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Renee Marlin-Bennett

@rmarlin-b.bsky.social
238 followers 490 following 137 posts

Political Scientist | IR Theory & Global Politics of Information | Power*ing* and the dark side of soft power | www.marlin-bennett.com | Salzburg Global Fellow | Amateur dancer, singer, & cook.

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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I've published a review essay, "Further thoughts on how capitalism runs away," on James Mittelman's conception of Runaway Capitalism. It's part of a forum on Jim's book. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Further thoughts on how capitalism runs away
James Mittelman's Runaway Capitalism, an erudite and insightful contribution to Global Political Economy and Critical Security Studies, identifies a trialectic system of three social forces, which ...
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Oh good. We're all set now. www.state.gov/releases/off...
state.gov
United States Welcomes Botswana’s Signing of the Artemis Accords - United States Department of State
The Department of State congratulates the Republic of Botswana on joining the Artemis Accords.  Botswana is the 68th country to sign the Accords to date, pledging its commitment to peaceful exploratio...
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Sen. Adam Schiff @schiff.senate.gov · 10/03/2026
Another alarm bell in this five alarm fire. Donald Trump is still trying to relitigate the 2020 election six years later. He wants to scare election officials and election workers ahead of the midterms. And he’s using the FBI to do it.
politico.com
Trump administration subpoenaing Arizona 2020 voting records, as Trump pushes to consolidate election power
The administration has also obtained records from Fulton County, Georgia, as Trump continues to focus on the 2020 election he lost.
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
See also Kennedy (1987) on “imperial overstretch.”
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Dalia Dassa Kaye @dassakaye.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Not only are things looking bad now but there's no plan and unrealistic expectations for the day after this reckless war
foreignaffairs.com
The Mirage of a New Middle East
War with Iran won’t reshape the region the way America wants.
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
15th Century Feminism (!) blog.nli.org.il/en/first_fem...
blog.nli.org.il
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Jews: we are guilty of settler colonialism. We took, without any a shekel of reparations or so much as a "by your leave," the lands of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite all b/c God said it was OK. We should have gotten title insurance. (Purim!)
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Dalia Dassa Kaye @dassakaye.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Important that major US media outlets are correcting the record on Trump's false claims about Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities. Some learning from the run up to the 2003 Iraq war?
nytimes.com
In Trump’s Case for War, a Series of False or Unproven Claims
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Dalia Dassa Kaye @dassakaye.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Trump: "No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight." Trump wants to show he's the American president that led to the downfall of the Islamic Republic. It's always about him, no matter the consequences. There is a reason no previous president has done this.
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Dalia Dassa Kaye @dassakaye.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
This war could end tomorrow and the US and the region will be living with the consequences for many years. You cannot put what Trump unleashed back in the box.
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Dalia Dassa Kaye @dassakaye.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
It's publication week! My new book takes a deep dive into how US policy on Iran has been made since the 1980's. It's a story of why US-Iran hostility has endured for now nearly half a century. Please check it out!
sup.org
Enduring Hostility | Stanford University Press
A timely and rigorous analysis of a half-century of American policymakers' shifting perceptions of Iran, and how they have driven US-Iran relations.
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Simple (research) pleasures: I found a document that I had no idea still existed by doing a basic Google search and the following the link to DSpace@MIT. I spent many, many hours with this document decades and decades ago... It feels like an old friend. (Can codebooks be old friends?)
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
New book from Shackelford, Douzet, and Ankerson on Securing Democracies: Defending Against Cyber Attack. I discuss the dark side of soft power in Chapter 4. *Open access* www.cambridge.org/core/books/s...
cambridge.org
Cyber Challenges to Democracy and Soft Power’s Dark Side (Chapter 4) - Securing Democracies
Securing Democracies - January 2026
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Dalia Dassa Kaye @dassakaye.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
I wrote last week about why military strikes are not the way to help the people of Iran if that's Trump's goal (and it's not clear that it is based on his current policies of visa bans, deportation flights, and slashing democracy and human rights programs)
justsecurity.org
Military Force Will Not Help the People of Iran
This is an Iranian uprising, and it is up to the people of Iran to decide their own future.
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
New (& somewhat quirky) article! Marlin‐Bennett Renée. 2025. “War Talk as Strategic Ontology: Lessons from the Assyria–Judah Conflict of 701 BCE.” Media, War & Conflict OnlineFirst (September). doi.org/10.1177/1750.... journals-sagepub-com.proxy1.library.jhu.edu/doi/full/10....
journals-sagepub-com.proxy1.library.jhu.edu
If your browser does not redirect, please click the following link
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
I am not sure how to go forward today with the normal stuff of writing my APSA paper and getting my syllabus ready when democracy is dying in real time. And if we go about our day smiling at folks and saying "Hi! How're you doing?" like usual, are we lobsters in a pot of cold water?
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
Even after a gazillion years as a professor, having a paper accepted for publication in a referee journal is still exciting. It's even better when a superb referee is really helpful.
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
The Houthis aren't really doing anything to help the Palestinians. Just stating the obvious because I haven't seen it said lately. (Like here 👇) www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...
theguardian.com
Seafarers from cargo ship attacked by Houthis rescued after 48 hours in water
Four more people rescued, with 11 still missing and six believed kidnapped, after Eternity C sank in Red Sea
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
More of Trump's awfulness on full display. May 12, 2025 open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...
open.substack.com
May 12, 2025
The biggest news over the weekend was silence: the silence of Republicans.
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
A French researcher, en route to a scientific conference, was denied entry to the US for criticizing Trump's policy on research. "Evidence" found on social media. Phone & laptop confiscated, too. www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...
lemonde.fr
French researcher denied entry to US for 'expressing personal opinion' on Trump policies
France's research minister expressed 'concern' on Wednesday at this decision by the US authorities. The researcher underwent a random check on arrival, before his computer and phone were searched, a s...
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Educate if you can! Q I posed in class today: "What is a tariff?" [Silence, then one timorous hand]. "A tax on exports?" & that gave me my opening in an IR theory class to talk about the constitution of the liberal world order as a benefit to the US, tariffs in context of mercantilism... 1/8
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Congratulations, Wisconsin!
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GingerSpice💙 @thedesertginger.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
BUT HER EMAILS!
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 24/03/2025
You cannot make this shit up. Sharing this jaw-dropping story with a gift link -- give it a read.
theatlantic.com
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
This is so chilling: www.msn.com/en-us/news/c...
msn.com
MSN
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
To do list entry: Cancel @washingtonpost.com subscription. Completed. Bezos broke it.
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
On the other site, former Ambassador Dennis Ross wrote: “One cannot be pro- Palestinian and pro-Hamas. No one has done more than Hamas to make Palestinians suffer and…[con’t]
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
The wages of the richest 1% have skyrocketed 182% since 1979.  Meanwhile, the wages of the bottom 90% have seen just 44% growth.  Trickle down economics was always a hoax.
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Yet another scary thing. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
washingtonpost.com
Vaccine safety panel long criticized by RFK Jr. told to postpone meeting
Health and Human Services officials said the postponement was to accommodate public comment ahead of the meeting but experts decried the delay.
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Despite everything, Shabbat arrives. Shabbat Shalom.
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
It's going to be another face-palming day.
Washington Post Headline: USDA tries to reverse mistaken firing of bird flu response workers.
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Busy responding to a referee report for an R&R. R1 was pretty positive. R2 thinks it's all BS and is nasty about it, full of personal attacks on my intelligence. In my response, I'm just saying: I will not respond to referee comments that are demeaning. I think that's fair. #politicalscience
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
I cannot allow myself to procrastinate by transcribing handwritten texts at the Library of Congress (crowd.loc.gov), but gosh it's tempting. Deadlines loom for me, but maybe someone out there in the BlueSky might be interested. #polisky -- there's stuff of interest here
crowd.loc.gov
By the People Home
Crowdsourcing project By the People invites anyone to become a Library of Congress virtual volunteer. Explore, transcribe, review, ...
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
A couple thousand years ago, as the world was crashing around him, Raban Shimon ben Gamliel said: on 3 things the world exists: on truth, on justice, and on peace. I feel like he was talking to us.
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
Glenn Sonnenberg stays true to what used to be called "Moderate Republican" views. Principled conservatives still exist and we liberals can have productive conversations with them. #1059 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Friday January 31) open.substack.com/pub/musingsb...
open.substack.com
#1059 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Friday January 31)
Good morning,
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
I am not sure I should have read this right before bed. A compelling, unsettling picture.
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Because why not? www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/u...
nytimes.com
President Blames D.E.I. and Biden for Crash Under Trump’s Watch
President Trump’s remarks, suggesting without evidence that diversity in hiring and other Biden administration policies somehow caused the disaster, reflected his instinct to immediately frame major e...
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
In Fictional World Politics class today, I'll be teaching/we'll be discussing Dr. Strangelove. I rewatched it for prep. A decade ago, I would have said this was a period set piece, relevant to an earlier world order. Now? It's fresh & scarily relevant. #polisky #politicalscience
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
When I teach my undergrad or grad course on borders, I devote a week to citizenship & statelessness. To be stateless (www.unhcr.org/ibelong/abou...) is to live in a deeply precarious condition, to not have a place on the planet where one can exist, reducing the human rights bearer to "bare life."
unhcr.org
» About statelessnessAbout statelessness | IBELONG Campaign to End Statelessness
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Procrastinating by making food. Orange-Carrot Smoothie: two carrots, a banana, a Clementine or other small seedless orange, some ice, about half a cup of nonfat Greek yogurt. Whirl in the blender. (I use a Blendtec.) Quite yummy #poliscicooks
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George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Heartless. Cruel.
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
My Spring semester course on "Fictional World Politics" (learning IR theory by reading fiction and applying fiction to imaginary worlds) starts tomorrow. I'm teaching Dr. Seuss's The Butter Battle Book. IMO, it's a profound contribution to the to the Peace and Conflict Resolution literature.
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
I asked Gemini AI to check my grammar and style. It came back with a pep talk, too.
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
"Trump to sign executive orders proclaiming there are only two biological sexes, halting diversity programs" Leaving aside the anguish of the transgender, what about the intersex, the human beings who are biologically neither just male nor just female? Don't they get equal protection under the law?
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
I student who has been ill completed the incomplete from last semester by submitting the research paper this morning. I've graded the paper and submitted my final grade for last semester just now (Sunday afternoon). The new semester starts on Tuesday.
media.tenor.com
a woman standing next to a brown horse with a saddle on it
Alt: a woman struggling to climb back on the saddle of a brown horse.
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
This looks really cool. (And I would say that even if the playwright were at my nephew. Honest.)
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
I'm conflicted about AI and what to require of students. Do I just accept it as the way things are now? I think of myself as a good writer, yet when I handed Gemini a paragraph I thought was complex but pretty darn eloquent, it handed me back something that was more eloquent and easier to understand
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
Merriam Webster allows "begging the question" to be defined as "to elicit a specific question as a reaction or response," but it's pretentious IMO. Why not just say "I ask" or "The question is:" or for heaven's sake just ask it! #gradingwhilegrumpy
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Dori Esq @doriesq.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
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Renee Marlin-Bennett @rmarlin-b.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib on X:


See new posts
Conversation
Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib
@afalkhatib
A common theme in the plight of the Palestinian people is the unforgivable failures of Palestinian leadership over the decades: reject deals and say no, only to make a bad losing bet and want what could have been achieved, obtained, or received before. It’s important to remember that a viable deal was on the table, regardless of what revisionist academics try to convince you of: a clear pathway to Palestinian Statehood that included the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. What Yasser Arafat did by not accepting the 2000 Camp David proposal was a crime against the Palestinian people, for which there has never been any accountability. Similarly, Hamas in the 1990s and 2000s rejected the Two-state solution, only to ultimately realize that Palestinians would be lucky to even receive that, particularly after the October 7 disaster.

Time and again throughout Palestinians’ contemporary history, their leadership and that of some Arab countries, particularly during the Pan-Arabism of the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, a Palestinian State could have been established, and attention could have been paid to nation-building, instead of pursuing fantasies around the destruction of Israel. It pains me greatly that so many Palestinians, both in Palestine and in the diaspora, are woefully unaware of this history and think the entirety of our problems are solely and exclusively the result of Israeli policies. It’s time for a rejuvenated and pragmatic Palestinian narrative that accounts for the consequences of disastrous leadership and acknowledges the inevitability of Israel’s continued existence and the need to live in peace and prosperity next to the Jewish State. That does not negate the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and freedom, for both peoples’ futures are intricately intertwined.
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