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Sheena Chestnut Greitens

@sheenagreitens.bsky.social
2.9K followers 623 following 65 posts

Associate Professor at UT-Austin. I study authoritarian politics, security, & East Asia, especially China and Korea. Non-resident scholar at Carnegie Endowment & U.S. Army War College, editor of the Texas National Security Review. Views my own.

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Reposted by Sheena Chestnut Greitens
Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
US Ambassador to China David Perdue says in their recent meeting Trump asked President Xi if China wanted to buy weapons systems from the US.
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orianamastro.bsky.social @orianamastro.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I shared some of my predictions about the Trump-Xi summit this week for @carnegieendowment.org's Emissary with @sheenagreitens.bsky.social, @tongzhao.bsky.social, and Yukon Huang. As expected, the meeting was largely a temporary easing of tension—a good outcome for status quo in the Taiwan Strait.
carnegieendowment.org
What to Watch When Trump and Xi Meet in Washington
The real test may come after the leaders leave the room.
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United States Studies Centre @usstudiescentre.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Randy Schriver on the US–Australia alliance: "I think it's incumbent upon the United States to continue to show ourselves as a good partner and an alliance partner, where we can help generate mutual benefit alongside our partners in Canberra." #SISF2026
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Texas National Security Review @tnsr.org · 05/09/2026
In our upcoming issue, Editor-in-Chief Sheena Chestnut Greitens previews how military force must align with broader statecraft to achieve political ends. Read her introduction to Vol. 9, Iss. 4: tnsr.org/2026/09/on-w... @sheenagreitens.bsky.social #GrandStrategy #ForeignPolicy #Defense
"On War and Politics" by Sheena Chestnut Greitens | "The contemporary world presents example after example of the need to integrate the use of military force with broader tools of strategy and statecraft in service of broader political goals—and scholarship across history and political science highlights the costs of failing to do so well."
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Sheena Chestnut Greitens @sheenagreitens.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
New project w/ Cameron Waltz & a terrific @utaustin.bsky.social student team, building on work @carnegieendowment.org. We examine China's construction of police training facilities & how this fits with the priorities of Xi's Global Security Initiative: www.tearline.mil/public_page/...
tearline.mil
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Greg @jamyang.net · 11/09/2026
@anthropic.com new threat report (Sept 2026) documents three PRC operations, disrupted Jan to Jul 2026, that used #Claude to monitor #Tibetan targets. The Central Tibetan Administration, @savetibet.bsky.social & @sfthq.bsky.social are named. A short thread on what it says (& what it doesn't.) 🧵
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Sheena Chestnut Greitens @sheenagreitens.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Wrote for this issue of @tnsr.org about lessons from history for how to use military means to pursue broader political-strategic ends. Feels particularly appropriate at the moment.
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Texas National Security Review @tnsr.org · 02/09/2026
In the introduction to our fall issue, Editor-in-Chief Sheena Chestnut Greitens examines why integrating force with broader statecraft remains central to world politics. @sheenagreitens.bsky.social #NationalSecurity #InternationalRelations #GrandStrategy
Foundation | "On War and Politics" by Sheena Chestnut Greitens
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Josh Busby @busbyj2.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
The LBJ School at the University of Texas is hiring in international political economy. Come work with us. apply.interfolio.com/192252
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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Joshua Kertzer @jkertzer.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
The 2026 iteration of the Harvard-MIT IR Summer Reading Group has wrapped up! 📚 For our format innovation this year, each week a guest (non)-speaker circulated work in progress, which we discussed and provided feedback for over lunch (this year's line-up is below)
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Sheena Chestnut Greitens @sheenagreitens.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
The UT Asia Policy Program has just opened its call for applications for our annual exec ed workshop in DC in September. Early career national security/foreign policy professionals with an interest in China are welcome to apply:
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Sheena Chestnut Greitens @sheenagreitens.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
The UT Asia Policy Program has just opened its call for applications for our annual exec ed workshop in DC in September. Early career national security/foreign policy professionals with an interest in China are welcome to apply:
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Dan Silverman @dmsilverman.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
New study shows that — contra widely accepted narratives — there is NO EVIDENCE that professors change their students’ politics and make them more liberal through their teaching
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Edward Goldring @edwardgoldring.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
“Teaching Autocracy and Autocratic Politics” is now out. To my knowledge, this is the first book that considers how instructors can teach about autocracy in a university setting. www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/tea...
e-elgar.com
Teaching Autocracy and Autocratic Politics
‘This is a terrific and thoughtful book about a question our field has overlooked: how to teach the politics of authoritarianism well. Filled with creative ideas and practical tools, it will be invalu...
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Nathan Goldwag @goldwagnathan.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
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Adam P. Liff @adampliff.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
**ACADEMIC JAPAN JOB OPPORTUNITY** IU is hiring a new visiting assistant prof of JAPANESE DOMESTIC POLITICS! Apply by August 9! A great opportunity for someone starting out; comes with significant perks. Please share with any recent/soon-to-be PhDs. Thanks! indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/32797
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Texas National Security Review @tnsr.org · 10/07/2026
Tune in at tnsr.org/2026/07/25-y.... @hooverinstitution.bsky.social #Geopolitics #Taiwan #MilitaryStrategy
tnsr.org
25 Years of the US-China Commission: Taiwan, Tech Competition, and Over-the-Horizon Risks - Texas National Security Review
Twenty-five years after its creation, how does the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission evaluate the evolving threat landscape? TNSR Editor-in-Chief Sheena Chestnut Greitens hosts Randall…
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Sense Hofstede @sensehofstede.nl · 15/07/2026
SCMP: China’s MSS think tank CICIR warns in report against European-led Nato 3.0 expansion in the Asia-Pacific – ‘“Nato 3.0 … will further expose the contradiction between US hegemony and European autonomy, leaving the alliance increasingly out of step with a multipolar world,” the report said.’
scmp.com
China report warns against European-led Nato 3.0 expansion in the Asia-Pacific
The alliance’s expanding military cooperation in the region will leave the bloc ‘increasingly at odds’ with multipolar world order.
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Texas National Security Review @tnsr.org · 13/07/2026
What did North Korea take from the Soviet collapse? Benjamin R. Young argues Pyongyang drew one conclusion above all: strengthen ideological control and build nuclear weapons. Read now: tnsr.org/2026/07/savi... @dubstepindprk.bsky.social #NorthKorea #NuclearWeapons #NationalSecurity
Scholar | "Saving Socialism: What North Korea Learned from the Collapse of the Soviet Union" by Benjamin R. Young
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Ankit Panda @nktpnd.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB) has been renamed the General Reconnaissance and Intelligence Bureau (GRIB) en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2026...
en.yna.co.kr
N. Korea to expand intelligence agency's role against 'potential enemies' | Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, July 10 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has called for expanding the functions and missions...
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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Based on this @tnsr.org article, also by @ebrewer.bsky.social. tnsr.org/2026/06/what...
tnsr.org
What Good Is a Nuclear Threshold Capability? Lessons from Iran’s Nuclear Program and Recent Regional Conflict - Texas National Security Review
The 2023–25 conflict in the Middle East was the first regional conflagration in which Iran was a nuclear threshold state. In theory, nuclear latency can confer strategic benefits, as Iran’s adversarie...
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Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
More from Eric Brewer on Iran’s threshold nuclear status and deterrence strategies, in conversation with Ankit Panda on Thinking the Unthinkable. @warontherocks.bsky.social @ebrewer.bsky.social @nktpnd.bsky.social warontherocks.com/episode/thin...
warontherocks.com
Revisiting Iran's Nuclear Threshold
Ankit Panda speaks with Eric Brewer about his Texas National Security Review article on how Iran managed — and ultimately mismanaged — its nuclear threshold...
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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
We should pay peer reviewers Paying reviewers led to faster decisions—an average of 5.5 working days vs 38 days for unpaid reviews And review quality improved (judged by handling editors) Reviewers who delivered a good peer review in 4 days were paid $290 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
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Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Gettysburg @pptsapper.bsky.social is my favorite @pptsapper.bsky.social
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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 18/06/2026
1/ China exports its security strategy to portray the system as a public safety success and not a human rights failure, says @sheenagreitens.bsky.social Sheena weighed in for @nytimes.com, based on research with @ibkardon.bsky.social and @cameronwaltz.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/2026/05/27/w...
nytimes.com
China Is Testing Its State Surveillance Model Abroad
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 12/06/2026
Chinese security officers have arrested an American citizen who studies politics in Myanmar and accused him of endangering national security.
nyti.ms
China Has Arrested U.S. Scholar Who Studies Myanmar Politics
The arrest of U Min Zin, a graduate student at U.C. Berkeley and founder of a research group in Myanmar, took place soon after President Trump met with Xi Jinping in China.
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The China-Global South Project @chinagsproject.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to arrive in North Korea on Monday after hosting back-to-back summits with U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin last month.
chinaglobalsouth.com
China’s Xi to Visit North Korea After Meetings With Trump, Putin
By Claire Lee Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to arrive in North Korea on Monday after hosting back-to-back summits with U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin last month. China, ...
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Eric Hundman @ehundman.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Hilarious, actually, as I’ve had to retool my team’s professional translation processes repeatedly over the last 6 months as LLMs infiltrate formerly good tools and break old machine-assisted processes. Those tools now routinely make up passages or omit entire paragraphs from the source
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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 29/05/2026
China’s Ministry of Public Security is frequently portrayed as a domestic law enforcement agency. But it’s also a global security actor – and it allows China to advance its vision of security abroad. More from @sheenagreitens.bsky.social, @cameronwaltz.bsky.social, & Sophie Zhuang:
buff.ly
China’s Police and Security Cooperation Agreements
China’s Ministry of Public Security is often portrayed as a domestic law enforcement agency, but it is also a global security actor. This paper explores how MPS has used international law enforcement…
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Sheena Chestnut Greitens @sheenagreitens.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Great @newyorktimes piece with lots of detail on local response to China's security outreach to the Solomons. Kudos David Pierson & Berry Wang for a terrific read: nytimes.com/2026/05/27/wor…
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Dr. Holly Walters @manigarm.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
I'm sorry, what? In writing my first monograph, I spent six weeks trying to track down a citation in TWO languages I didn't know. And good thing too, because the citation was wrong. That's scholarship. That's research. You know, the thing we're trained to do?!?
The reactions of some researchers on Twitter finally being held responsible for not having read the very paper they submitted are... something. Mainly, they don't think they should have to check every citation or make sure the data is real and accurate. Because it's too hard, I guess.
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
This 1952 memo from the Pentagon UFO files is superb There is no point preparing for aliens ‘because no one of consequence is going to take this rubbish seriously unless it happens. At that point, our policy will be determined in the traditional manner of grand panic.’ 🤣 www.war.gov/medialink/uf...
There likely is nothing to be done at the moment to prepare for these possibilities (the only body of writing on the subject available in an emergency is science fiction), because no one of consequence is going to take this rubbish seriously unless it happens. At that point, our policy will be determined in the traditional manner of grand panic.

Maxwell W. Hunter, II
Member, Professional Staff
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Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Absolutely fascinating translation of a senior Chinese diplomat in Kyiv's account of days leading up to & day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The most jarring thing: even the Chinese on the ground were trying to convince Kyiv that war was imminent but were brushed off
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Sense Hofstede @sensehofstede.nl · 28/04/2026
WSJ: China’s intelligence agency MSS blames anti-China influences from abroad for stoking youth disillusionment – ‘The MSS said certain overseas organizations—[…]—have funded anti-China media outlets, think tanks and influencers, and have carried out a systemic “lying-flat brainwashing” campaign.’
wsj.com
China Says Hostile Foreign Forces Are Driving Its Youth to Slack Off
The country’s intelligence agency blamed anti-China influences from abroad for stoking youth disillusionment.
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G. Willow Wilson @gwillow.me · 27/04/2026
I feel like his skills could have been put to better use at that specific point in time
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Philip Bump @pbump.com · 23/04/2026
Here, I made this for my newsletter a few months back. Feel free to share with any Cabinet members you know.
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Ankit Panda @nktpnd.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
"American military and intelligence officials estimate that, after weeks of war, Iran still has about 40 percent of its arsenal of attack drones and upward of 60 percent of its missile launchers — more than enough to hold shipping in the Strait of Hormuz hostage..." www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/u...
nytimes.com
For Iran, Flexing Control Over Waterway Is New Deterrent
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Texas National Security Review @tnsr.org · 13/04/2026
@sheenagreitens.bsky.social argues that the search for stability is becoming increasingly elusive as horizontal proliferation and complex multipolarity dismantle the old bipolar assumptions of the Cold War era. tnsr.org/2026/02/the-...
tnsr.org
The (Elusive) Search for Strategic Stability - Texas National Security Review
The combination of technological and geopolitical change puts pressure on the search for strategic stability in the contemporary international environment.
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Noah Barkin @noahbarkin.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Colin Powell told George Bush in the run-up to the Iraq war: "You break it, you own it". Trump's Iran message to allies in Asia and beyond is: "I break it, you own it". Good Evan Feigenbaum on how Trump's war could prove a disaster for US Indo-Pacific ambitions carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...
carnegieendowment.org
In Its Iran War Debate, Washington Has Lost the Plot in Asia
The United States ignores the region’s lived experience—and the tough political and social trade-offs the war has produced—at its peril.
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The China-Global South Project @chinagsproject.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
China and Vietnam launch their first 3+3 Strategic Dialogue in Hanoi, bringing together foreign, defense, and security chiefs as the two sides deepen cooperation and conduct joint maritime drills.
chinaglobalsouth.com
Top Chinese Security and Diplomacy Chiefs Meet Vietnamese Counterparts in First-Ever Three-Minister Talks
The first-ever
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German Marshall Fund @gmfus.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Joining Bonnie this week are associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin, Sheena Chestnut Greitens, and associate political scientist at the RAND Corporation, Jake Rinaldi, to discuss potential costs for China’s domestic social stability. 🎧️ Listen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVBT...
youtube.com
China Global Podcast - Ep 118 - ft. Sheena Chestnut Greitens and Jake Rinaldi
Today’s episode is the second in a three-part series that examines the potential consequences for China if a military operation against Taiwan were to fail. In each of these episodes, we’re speaking…
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Centre for European Reform @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Applications are now open for the 13th Clara Marina O’Donnell fellowship, full details below. Start date: October 2026 for six months Pay: London Living Wage Applications in by: 09/04/26 @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social @brookings.edu @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social buff.ly/3vV64SZ
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Caitlin Talmadge @proftalmadge.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Pleased to speak with @economist.com for this excellent discussion of Iran's threat to the Strait of Hormuz www.economist.com/middle-east-...
economist.com
Can America clear the Strait of Hormuz of Iran’s drones and mines?
Escorting convoys of oil tanker with warships may give Iran juicy American targets
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James Cameron @jjjcameron.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Hegseth: We didn't anticipate that Iran would respond this way. US Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1984: We anticipated that Iran would respond in this way. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/u... www.cia.gov/readingroom/...
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged on Tuesday that the Pentagon had not expected Iran’s ferocious response against its neighbors. But he insisted Iran’s actions were backfiring.

“I can’t say that we anticipated necessarily that’s exactly how they would react, but we knew it was a possibility,” Mr. Hegseth said at the Pentagon news conference with General Caine. “I think it was a demonstration of the desperation of the regime.”If Iraq decides to attack Iran's Kharg Island facility, Iran could reciprocate by attacks on neutral shipping or on the facilities of the non-belligerebt Gulf states, since Iran's goal would be to cut off Iraq's economic support.

Three options Iran might choose to pursue in attempting to carry out her threats are.

A. Mining the Strait of Hormuz or the waters of the Persian Gulf or the Gulf of Oman.

B. Mining coupled with interdiction of neutral shipping.

C. Mining and interdictuon of neutral shipping coupled with attacks on the key facilities of the non-belligerent Gulf nations.
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Joseph Torigian @josephtorigian.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
In Austin? Tomorrow (Tuesday) I’ll be giving a talk on Party’s Interests at UT Austin. Thanks @sheenagreitens.bsky.social for the invite! asiapolicy.utexas.edu/events/the-p...
asiapolicy.utexas.edu
The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping - Asia Policy Program
On Tuesday, March 10, the Clements Center for National Security, the Asia Policy Program, the America in the World Consortium, and the Strauss Center for International Law will host Joseph Torigian, A...
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Joseph Britt @zathras5.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Weekend listen: A @chinapower.csis.org panel on Xi Jinping’s purge of the Chinese military. Nominally targeting corruption, it’s taken down an astonishing number of senior officers. What does it mean? With @sheenagreitens.bsky.social @brianthart.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
podcasts.apple.com
Assessing the Scope and Impacts of Xi’s Military Purges
Podcast Episode · ChinaPower · February 26 · 1h 29m
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Toni Rodon @tonirodon.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Foreign influencers help authoritarian regimes: while they may not sway domestic audiences already saturated with propaganda, they can reshape the perceptions of more credulous foreign publics journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
journals.sagepub.com
Authoritarian Persuasion at Home and Abroad: The Partial Effectiveness of Foreign Influencers in Propaganda Work - Siyu Liang, Lachlan McNamee, 2026
How do authoritarian regimes make propaganda persuasive? This study evaluates the impact of foreign influencers in propaganda. Social media videos and state bro...
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Sheena Chestnut Greitens @sheenagreitens.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Texas friends, don’t forget to vote today!
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Texas National Security Review @tnsr.org · 25/02/2026
What does strategic stability mean in a world of multipolar nuclear competition and rapid tech change? Our editor in chief, @sheenagreitens.bsky.social, lays out the framework for our upcoming issue. Read the full introduction at: tnsr.org/2026/02/the-... #StrategicStability #NatSecWhat
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