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Skip Mark

@skipmark.bsky.social
114 followers 104 following 45 posts

I am a human rights scholar working at the University of Rhode Island in the political science department. I am director of the Center for Non-violence and Peace Studies and co-director of the CIRIGHTS project, the world’s largest human rights dataset.

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Skip Mark @skipmark.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Human rights violations carried out by the United States have increased under the Trump administration. My plan is to try and document some of these violations. A short thread on the extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean carried out by the Trump Administration. 1/x
amnesty.org
USA: Death Toll in Campaign of Extrajudicial Killings at Sea Nears 200
Since September 2025, the U.S. Southern Command has carried out nearly 60 air strikes against boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, killing at least 196 people so far
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Skip Mark @skipmark.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
@royaizadi.bsky.social has a wonderful piece in @goodauth.bsky.social. A few takeaways 1/3 1.) pre war support for the government was higher than most people think (50%), while support for regime change was low (30%). The regime had a lot more support than media coverage would suggest.
goodauthority.org
Why Washington keeps misreading Iran
What history and political science can tell us about the resilience of the Islamic Republic’s government and institutions.
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Laura Huber @laurahuber.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Many studies find a link between sexism and support for political violence in some countries, but does it hold worldwide? We explore this in our new research note at @conflictmanagement.bsky.social! Spoilers: Kinda yes but also kinda no journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com
Peace through equality: Exploring the cross-national micro-foundations of the gender equality-peace nexus - Laura Huber, Elaine Tagert, 2026
Does individual-level support for women's rights decrease tolerance of political violence cross-nationally? While some research demonstrates that support f...
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Skip Mark @skipmark.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
New set of fellows at good authority. A really good resource for those looking for expert takes on current events. Shout out for @royaizadi.bsky.social who one of the new fellows.
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Stephen Bagwell @stephenmbagwell.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
New in @theconversation.com In short: @rightstracker.bsky.social data show the US is behind on economic and social rights (education, healthcare, dignified work and fair pay, food and nutrition) relative to what it can afford and its peers, looking at 30 years theconversation.com/americans-ar...
theconversation.com
Americans are not as well off as people in peer nations – US safety net’s shortfalls show up in global data
This is not a one-year blip. The US has been underperforming in terms of health, education and more for the past 25 years.
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Skip Mark @skipmark.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
New in the Journal of Human Rights: when countries actually comply with IMF loan conditions, their people’s economic & social rights tend to get worse, not better. With @stephenmbagwell.bsky.social and Shristi Rai First 50 articles are free to access 1/
tandfonline.com
Compliance with International Monetary Fund concessional lending policies and economic and social rights fulfillment
Does compliance with International Monetary Fund (IMF) concessional lending conditions improve or harm the fulfillment of economic and social rights? While existing scholarship examines IMF program...
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Skip Mark @skipmark.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Knicks in five! An amazing NBA final. Knicks win the title
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Alex Braithwaite @thebraith.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Rachel Van Nostrand and I wrote a piece for The Conversation U.S. (with help from two excellent University of Arizona students, Malia Hirasa and Sydney Horton.) We detail how US ICE detention facilities qualify as a system of concentration camps.
url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com
When immigration detention becomes a system of concentration: Lessons from research on 150 historical cases
Scholars have defined the elements of what qualifies as a concentration camp system. Based on those, ICE detention facilities meet the definition of concentration camps.
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Dr. Kelebogile Zvobgo (she/her) @kellyzvobgo.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
🖨️ Thrilled to end a chockablock week with the online publication of my third peer-reviewed article coauthored w/ William & Mary students. We employ GIS mapping tools to understand memorialization of political violence in the empirical context of a post-colonial state. Link: doi.org/10.1177/0738...
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Sara Mitchell @sbmitche.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
😡😡
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Elizabeth N. Saunders @profsaunders.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Too bad Trump and Rubio destroyed US diplomatic capacity. goodauthority.org/news/trump-a... @goodauth.bsky.social
goodauthority.org
Trump and Rubio dismantled U.S. diplomacy. It’s making the Iran War harder.
Since the start of 2026, President Donald Trump has taken the wheel of American military power and pressed hard on […]
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Skip Mark @skipmark.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
A recent piece I wrote with David Cingranelli. We argue that the US is committing atrocities and things are on track to escalate. Take this as me ringing the alarm bell. Things are deteriorating worldwide, and the US is not an exception.
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Bridging The Gap @bridgingthegap.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
BTG Alum Erica De Bruin recently published a timely article in The Conversation, "ICE Not Only Looks Like a Paramilitary Force-- It is One, and That Makes it Harder to Curb."
theconversation.com
ICE not only looks and acts like a paramilitary force – it is one, and that makes it harder to curb
ICE, created in response to 9/11, meets most definitions of paramilitary forces. Critics worry it’s gone beyond its writ of immigration enforcement.
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Josh Zingher @zingherpolisci.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
Americans have a habit of trying to compare all authoritarianism to Nazi Germany. I think in some ways i think it is comforting to view authoritarianism as a foreign ideology. If you want to understand our current authoritarian moment, you need to look to our own past, not to Europe 1/x
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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Straight to the Intro to IR syllabus
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 29/11/2025
The Doctor is right and correct
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Skip Mark @skipmark.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
The chief reason Mamdani has aroused such keen interest is because he is the first leftwinger to show that politicians can not only face down Trumpism, they can beat him…The centre-left should be taking on the extreme right and acting as the anti-Trump. Instead…it is playing at being not-Trump.
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Todd Landman @drtoddlandman.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
New co-authored article on international trade and forced labour. @nottspolitics.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/ecpo...
doi.org
International Trade and Forced Labor
We explore the link between trade liberalization and forced labor theoretically and empirically. Our theoretical framework predicts that the net effect of trade on the use of forced labor depends on ...
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International Organization @iojournal.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
New #firstview: @uazsgpp.bsky.social's Cameron Mailhot and @gsslab.bsky.social @sabrinamkarim.bsky.social on public perceptions of and support for international state-building, with evidence from conjoint experiments in Liberia. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
International State Building and Civilian Preferences: Experimental Evidence from Liberia | International Organization | Cambridge Core
International State Building and Civilian Preferences: Experimental Evidence from Liberia
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Erica Chenoweth @chenoweth.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Privileged to write this editorial with @gretchentg.bsky.social of @ucs.org in @science.org: "Scientists’ role in defending democracy." www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A red quotation mark graphic, followed by bold text excerpted from an August 14th Science magazine editorial by Gretchen Goldman and Erica Chenoweth, saying "The ability to tell the truth, especially when it does not suit any particular partisan aims, is an essential prerequisite for a free society."
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Skip Mark @skipmark.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
New piece in the @us.theconversation.com with @stephenmbagwell.bsky.social The protection of collective labor rights (right to unionize, strike, and bargain collectively) reduces income inequality between individuals (poor vs. rich) and between ethnic/racial groups (white versus Black).
theconversation.com
Strengthening collective labor rights can help reduce economic inequality
A research team’s findings suggest that when workers are free to advocate for better wages and benefits for themselves, it also benefits society as a whole.
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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
Glad to see this letter: blogs.timesofisrael.com/we-are-nyc-r...
blogs.timesofisrael.com
The Blogs: We are NYC rabbis who support Zohran Mamdani – Here’s why
His platform reflects the Jewish call for justice and also offers a clear plan to address antisemitic violence. That's what real protection looks like
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K. Chad Clay @kchadclay.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
I'm happy to present Dr. Meridith LaVelle! Dr. LaVelle successfully defended her dissertation this morning. She will be a Humboldt Research Fellow at the University of Mannheim this fall. A huge thanks to her other committee members, Amanda Murdie, Danny Hill, and Jeffrey Berejikian.
Image of 5 people on Zoom: Amanda Murdie, K. Chad Clay, Daniel Hill, Jeffrey Berejikian, and Meridith LaVelle
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Kathleen Cunningham @kgcunnin.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
This update took longer than I anticipated, but it's out now! New data on organizational use of violent and nonviolent tactics. Using a diversity of nonviolent tactics is linked to longer survival for orgs. journals.sagepub.com/eprint/SXPRW...
journals.sagepub.com
Tactics of survival: Strategies of Resistance Data Project update - Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham, Ted Ellsworth, Harriet Goers, Michael Cowan, Oja Pathak, Ellin Chung, 2025
This article presents an update on the Strategies of Resistance Data Project. It extends the original coding of organizations seeking greater self-determination...
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Elizabeth N. Saunders @profsaunders.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
🧵 To make this more concrete: don't assume Trump himself knows what he is going to do next in in the Israel-Iran conflict. He definitely doesn't want to get the US involved in a major war in the Middle East (that much he's been clear on). But he loves to bomb and look tough. 1/
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Skip Mark @skipmark.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
Why do peaceful protest turn violent? Today’s #NoKings protests are a case study of why we need to think about both how protesters behave AND how the government and police respond to protest. Millions of people protested peacefully, LA erupted in violence This is an analysis of why A thread
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Skip Mark @skipmark.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
About a thousand people came out to protest at India Point Park in Providence, RI for the No Kings movement. Speeches by Senator Jack Reed and Representative David Morales. People turned out in large numbers despite the rain.
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Skip Mark @skipmark.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
Thousands protest in Providence, RI at the capital for the No Kings movement
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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
Sorry, but this stuff drives me absolutely crazy. I’m sorry economists & journalists are just discovering the field of international political economy. But we’ve been studying & publishing about this stuff for 50 years now. There’s no new age of anything & “geoeconomics” has been around forever.
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Binghamton University Political Science @bingpolisci.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Congratulations to all participants and winners in today's 501 Poster Session!
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K. Chad Clay @kchadclay.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
I keep seeing people saying things like, "It is difficult to be a conservative at a University." If you think this is true, I beg you to spend some time at a public university in a red or purple state. Stop making generalizations based on private and/or elitist schools in the Northeast. 1/3
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Sara Mitchell @sbmitche.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
The problem with America in 1 graph
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Dr. Tiffany A. Flowers @drtiffanyaflowers.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
The Black Farmers Index is a collective of Black farmers who are fueling the small business farm revolution. They sell everything from food to soap. Please click on the regions to find farms near you or shop online and share with your friends. blackfarmersindex.com
blackfarmersindex.com
Black Farmers Index
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Sara Mitchell @sbmitche.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Information for the 2025 Journeys in World Politics workshop: www.saramitchell.org/journeysflye... Applications due on 5/30 for the workshop held at the U of Iowa on 8/24-8/26. Our senior mentors are Kathleen Cunningham & Leah Windsor, along with Kelly Kadera, Jessica Weeks, Christina Schneider.
saramitchell.org
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Amy Landers @amylanders.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
I was wondering when someone would trigger WTO dispute resolution proceedings www.wto.org/english/news...
wto.org
Canada initiates WTO dispute regarding US duties on automobiles and auto parts
Canada has requested WTO dispute consultations with the United States concerning US measures imposing a 25 percent duty on automobiles and automobile parts from Canada. The request was circulated to W...
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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Unidentified men grabbing someone off the street and putting her in a car because she wrote an op-Ed. This as flatly authoritarian as anything we’ve seen in this country in a very long time.
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Adam Schwarz @adamjschwarz.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
A huge anti-Erdoğan protest tonight in Istanbul, defying a four day national ban on protests, to denounce the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. "Break down those barricades without harming the police. Take to the streets and squares", Ozgur Ozel, an opposition leader, told protesters.
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 21/03/2025
Today marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. For anti-racism to be genuine and have a lasting impact, governments should meaningfully redress the ongoing impacts of racism’s historic legacies.
hrw.org
Ending Racism Means Addressing Its Historic Legacies
Today marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the 60th anniversary of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
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Erica Chenoweth @chenoweth.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
@djpressman.bsky.social, Soha Hammam, and I draw on our research through the Crowd Counting Consortium to show that there is far more protest happening in the US than is commonly understood, and that the shift to economic noncooperation shows powerful potential for future collective action.
urldefense.proofpoint.com
Resistance is alive and well in the United States
Protests of Trump may not look like the mass marches in 2017, but they're far more numerous and frequent — and also becoming more strategic.
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Josh Zingher @zingherpolisci.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
With the Democrats in the Senate folding on this CR as we speak, i wanted to take a minute to share a document I've been working on about what an effective opposition to Trump should look like. The full document is linked in the thread 1/x
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Josh Zingher @zingherpolisci.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
If you drive across the Midwest you'll spend literally all day looking at corn and soybean fields. It turns out, we grow so much corn and so many soybeans that we have to go out of our way to find things to do with them 1/x bsky.app/profile/pear...
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Andrew Heiss @andrew.heiss.phd · 27/02/2025
Hey! Latest paper by @suparnac.bsky.social and @audreycomstock7.bsky.social and me is live at the Journal of Human Rights: "Derogations, democratic backsliding, and international human rights during the COVID-19 pandemic" doi.org/10.1080/1475... Preprint here: www.andrewheiss.com/research/art...
Derogations, democratic backsliding, and international human rights during the COVID-19 pandemic

Did states misuse international legal emergency provisions during the COVID-19 pandemic to justify human rights abuse, or did they follow international human rights law? Many governments restricted citizens’ freedom of movement, association, and assembly during the crisis, raising questions about states’ commitments to international human rights law. Some states used derogations to communicate temporary suspension of international legal provisions in a proportional and nondiscriminatory manner; others did not. We explored the dynamics of democratic backsliding and derogation use during the pandemic. We found that backsliding states were more likely to issue human rights treaty derogations. These derogations had mitigating effects once issued. Backsliding states that issued derogations were more likely to communicate restrictions and less likely to issue abusive and discriminatory policy during the pandemic. Derogations helped temper abuse in states not experiencing backsliding. However, derogations did not always protect against abuse and media transparency in backsliding states. These results lend support to the use of flexibility mechanisms in international law and find that most states did not use emergency derogations to heighten human rights violations. The study contributes to the understanding of how international legal measures may help mitigate elements of democratic backsliding during times of crisis.Stacked fuzzy bar charts showing the results of ordered logistic regression models across a range of human rights violations in backsliding and non-backsliding countries
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Sara Mitchell @sbmitche.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
My new article at FPA with @chaselaspisa.bsky.social is available!
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Friendly Neighborhood Mouse @missmouse.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Have received a lot of questions about how to find these protests and rallies in the DC area. The Movement Infrastructure Project is a great resource. www.movementinfrastructureproject.org/calendar
movementinfrastructureproject.org
Calendar — Movement Infrastructure Project
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K. Chad Clay @kchadclay.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
I missed this when it came out last year, but here's a profile on me that covers a lot of topics, including human rights in the United States. spia.uga.edu/spia-tedxuga...
spia.uga.edu
SPIA @TEDxUGA: K. Chad Clay - SPIA
SPIA Associate Professor K. Chad Clay wants to reduce human suffering, and he bets you do, too. In his TEDxUGA 2023 talk, Clay, the director of SPIA’s Center for the
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Alison Leal Parker @lealparker.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
NEW from #HRW on Trump immigration EOs: "All people, regardless of immigration status or criminal history, have the right to fair treatment before the law and a chance to argue for their liberty and rights when they are detained or face deportation." www.hrw.org/news/2025/01...
hrw.org
Trump’s Executive Orders Promise Systemic Detentions, Deportations
In a nondescript parking lot in Tucson, Arizona, a fifth-grade boy waited in a car while his mom, Natalie Burke, went inside a US government office to sign some paperwork.
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Daniel Drezner @dandrezner.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Oh no that’s horrible. I sure hope no one else sends fake reports to DEIAtruth@opm.gov.
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Victor Asal @victorasal.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Introducing the CEDAW ROCS dataset: A Dataset on the United Nations Treaty the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women––Reservations and Objections of Committed States @fpa-isa.bsky.social Willow Kreutzer academic.oup.com/fpa/article/...
academic.oup.com
Introducing the CEDAW ROCS dataset: A Dataset on the United Nations Treaty the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women––Reservations and Objections of Committed Stat...
Abstract. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women Reservations and Objections of Committed States (CEDAW ROCS) datas
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