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Tim Hirschel-Burns

@timhirschelburns.bsky.social
1.2K followers 541 following 1.9K posts

Working @gdp-center.bsky.social for a global economy that advances development and addresses climate change. Past: Oxfam, Yale Law, Benin. Views my own. Subscribe to my Substack: timhirschelburns.substack.com

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Reposted by Tim Hirschel-Burns
Mr. Dan Zak @mrdanzak.com · 04/10/2026
A Haitian man legally immigrated to Ohio, then was given an ankle monitor bc Trump withdrew his status. He threw himself in front of truck. The trucker, who voted for Trump, is haunted. “Pierre was doing what he was supposed to do. We did not do right by him.” www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
theatlantic.com
A Reckoning in Springfield
A truck driver out on his route confronts what the country has become.
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Reposted by Tim Hirschel-Burns
Karthik Sankaran @rajakorman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Have I mentioned that...
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
It drives me crazy to watch the int'l affairs wonk class memory hole global challenges + casually accept the future is geoeconomic competition, rival blocs etc Bc it's conventional wisdom no one answers how it's supposed to lead to anything but disaster timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/we-dont-ha...
timhirschelburns.substack.com
We don’t have a choice
Those who’d give up on global cooperation are promising global crises
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Development Studies Association @devcomms.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
ICYMI: What really happened to USAID? It was democratic breakdown and rightwing culture war-radicalization), says @timhirschelburns.bsky.social buff.ly/z1l5fr4
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I wrote about @carlos-barragan.bsky.social's incredible book on Nigerian romance scammers—and the Nigerian romance scammer I got to know as I read it timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/the-book-t...
timhirschelburns.substack.com
The book that made me video call a Nigerian romance scammer from a wedding
“The Yahoo Boys” by Carlos Barragán
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Glad to see this covered. Last year I wrote about Cudjoe Lewis and the Beninese citizenship law his descendant utilized, which makes tens of millions of black Americans—including many who do not have Beninese ancestors—eligible for a form of citizenship open.substack.com/pub/timhirsc...
open.substack.com
40 million Black Americans are eligible for Beninese citizenship
How a recent law shows the promise and challenges of trying to right the wrongs of the past
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Live report from the Minnesota State Fair, located in the heart of American democracy, where there’s an ICE Out adaptation of Picasso’s Guernica made entirely from crops
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
"We don’t need them, they need us" is a formulation Trump has used on various occasions now. It’s the core summation of how he sees the US relationship with the rest of the world. The reason it’s wrong is very simple: We need each other
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
This is the most personal thing I've ever written, and it means a lot that people seem to have found something of value in it. If you haven't, I hope you'll give it a read too timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/joseph-gbe...
timhirschelburns.substack.com
Joseph Gbenangnon Chabi, 1984-2026
Remembering a man forgotten in life
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Rosella Melanson @rosellam.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
«He couldn't countenance the idea there were rich parts of the world that could knowingly coexist with poverty like his own, whose response would be to shut out the tired &poor. He never lost confidence that humans were far better than the evidence of his life had given him reason to believe
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Last month Joseph died unexpectedly. His life was likely very different from the people you're used to encountering, but we had enough in common to share an unusual friendship for 9 years. It would mean a lot if you took a little time to read about him timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/joseph-gbe...
timhirschelburns.substack.com
Joseph Gbenangnon Chabi, 1984-2026
Remembering a man forgotten in life
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
I used Our World in Data's awesome new page to make 10 charts on global inequality. Here's the per person income level of 10th percentile, median, and 90th percentile of the global income distribution (adjusted for cost of living differences). The typical human lives on just $3,521 per year
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Zero people died because of DOGE. Ok maybe people died but it was MacKenzie Scott's fault. And the government needed to cut costs. Well sure, even by DOGE's own account they saved 10% of what they originally promised. And fine much of that 10% didn't happen www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
washingtonpost.com
Elon Musk’s DOGE made big errors in claims of government savings, GAO finds
The government watchdog found that billions of dollars in DOGE’s public tally could not be verified and that some claimed cuts never happened.
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
In which I critique Western libs, hawks, and restrainers alike 🔽 timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/its-the-gl...
timhirschelburns.substack.com
It's the (global) economy, stupid
To people around the world, the most important thing is their standard of living. Why doesn't foreign policy recognize that?
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
This map is the centerpiece of my new Substack. It shows what people think is democracy's #1 purpose. Yellow="improving living standards + well-being" Purple="protecting individual rights + freedoms" This should have big implications for our worldview timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/its-the-gl...
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
While Americans favor acting on the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Netanyahu by a wide margin, the State Department is openly running a campaign to dismantle the ICC
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
🚨NEW POST🚨 Domestically, we generally recognize Americans' top concerns are economic: jobs, housing, health care. But when we think about foreign policy, suddenly the economy goes missing timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/its-the-gl...
timhirschelburns.substack.com
It's the (global) economy, stupid
To people around the world, the most important thing is their standard of living. Why doesn't foreign policy recognize that?
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Reposted by Tim Hirschel-Burns
Timothy McBride @mcbridetd.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Tragic: Overland couple killed in Guatemala after being deported by ICE | STLPR www.stlpr.org/law-order/20...
stlpr.org
Overland couple shot dead in Guatemala after local ICE stop led to deportations
The couple’s 14-month-old daughter was found crying beside her mother’s body in a sugarcane field last week, according to Guatemalan authorities and media.
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Kate Aronoff @katearonoff.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
The line between climate hushing and climate denial is getting awfully thin
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
So in the last week: -50% tariff on Canada (under the infamous Smoot-Hawley Act) -25% tariff on Brazil for "unfair trade practices" (the US has a trade surplus w/ Brazil) -10% tariff on 60 countries for allegedly allowing forced labor in supply chains (a very sincere concern of the Trump admin)
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elia ayoub @ayoub.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
In case you didn’t have enough reasons to love Spanish football, here’s some more wholesome content of the male players paying their respects to the women’s team, which also won the world cup www.instagram.com/reel/DbEsgxe...
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
There's that quip "God created war so that Americans would learn geography." Well if phase one of the war taught us why the Strait of Hormuz is important, people are about to learn why it really matters that the Bab al-Mandab Strait is in play too
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Just came across this photo of a World Cup screening in Gaza. Wow (Mohammed Skaik/TheNews2/Cover Images)
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Looks like a normal real estate agent profile, right? Oh, his last listed sale was two years ago. Wonder what he's been up to since? This man is now the US government's head of international disaster and humanitarian response. Yes, you are looking at a senior State Department official
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
First country to hold the men’s and women’s World Cups at the same time. Europe’s strongest voice against militarism and genocide in Gaza. Actively expanding immigration and enjoying one of Europe’s best economies. A great country!
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Ben DuBose @bendubose.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Well, this will be fun in a few minutes
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Hot take to spice up a dull game: people freak out over flopping because it’s perceived as soft and effeminate but the much bigger problem for opponents’ safety and their team’s success is mindless machismo
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Exceptionally in character from Enzo Fernandez
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Gaius (from Tribunate) @gaius.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
I’m against a halftime show in principle but if they have to do one I’m really glad it’s emphasizing global togetherness and love instead of echoing Trumpist grievances. Let these freaks stew in how little cultural impact they have
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Feeling this today—why the World Cup is the most beautiful, unifying, internationalist event this earth has to offer open.substack.com/pub/timhirsc...
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
There's a real chance that a progressive governing coalition is coming, and there will be appetite for a new foreign policy. That's huge But as I put it in Jacobin, it means progressives need to have answers to the kinds of questions that come up when you're actually governing
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
I think we've hit belligerent foreign policy ad absurdum here. Just so entirely incapable of thinking of international affairs in terms other than domination + coercion that the most basic case of a cross-boundary shared challenge becomes an occasion for saber-rattling thehill.com/homenews/sen...
thehill.com
GOP senator to introduce bill to sanction Canada over wildfire smoke
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), a close Trump ally, announced Thursday that he will introduce legislation to sanction Canada and Canadian officials over the huge wildfires that have poured smoke and h…
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Reposted by Tim Hirschel-Burns
Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Congrats we just made it impossible to come here for a PhD www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/16/m...
bostonglobe.com
Trump administration limits student visas to four years, changing longstanding policy - The Boston Globe
The new rule, which also restricts the international students’ ability to transfer schools or change majors without approval in their first year, will go into effect in mid-September.
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
I understand why people focused on militarism gravitate towards reducing US international engagement. But when it comes to the economy and broader international interaction, the US *is* going to be involved. It will inevitably be a question of *how* the US engages, not *whether* it does
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Richard Bell @richardbell.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
So I got this one right…
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
England sitting wayyyy too deep too early. No way they can survive 20 minutes of this
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Djed Spence and Pedro Porro almost got relegated this year!
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Today’s ref Ismail Elfath—the last American left in the tournament—came to the US through the diversity visa lottery, a little-known gem of an immigration program. The Trump administration suspended it indefinitely
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Remember how they put USAID through the woodchipper because they said it was an international political slush fund? Well here's an actual international political slush fund
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
New from me: The new wave sweeping the Democratic Party is rightly outraged over Gaza. But what exactly is their foreign policy agenda beyond Gaza? It's far from clear—but the principles underlying opposition to the genocide offer the contours of a broader international vision
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
In 1993, Spain was no richer than Malaysia is today. In 2004, Poland was no richer than Guatemala is today. In 2015, Bulgaria was no richer than Jamaica is today. European development has been extraordinary. A big reason why: the EU provided hundreds of billions of euros in support
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Toby Buckle @polphilpod.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
"political scientists, consultants, commentators think about politics as primarily about policy, & values as secondary to that electorates are the opposite"
politicalphilosophypodcast.com
Does Dem messaging even matter? with Noah Berlatsky
Thinking about political thinking
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Karthik Sankaran @rajakorman.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
About that ICC op-ed from the guy running Venezuela’s OMB.
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Judah Grunstein @judah-grunstein.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Rubio is writing this paean to sovereignty at a time when he is functionally the unelected viceroy of Venezuela, determining govt policy there by dint of having seized the Venezuelan state's oil revenues.
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
New question for happy hours: do you identify as a leftist NGO, a smug globalist, or a hostile Third World government?
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
I also think this links to a broader point: the Trump administration doesn't believe in sovereignty, they believe in domination. Many of the examples Rubio cites as infringement of US sovereignty are in fact about US violations of other countries' sovereignty: Afghanistan, boat strikes, Iran war
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
A story very fitting for 2026 America, where 1) not enough immigrants and 2) too many graduates being steered towards business and finance instead of skilled occupations leads to this: Employers can’t fill jobs *and* graduates can’t get jobs www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
washingtonpost.com
Why recruiters can’t find workers and new grads can’t find jobs (it’s not AI)
Experts say a major labor shortage looms because of population shifts and a mismatch between new graduates’ skills and employers’ needs.
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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
The US has 340 million people. Africa is on course for two *billion*, with sky-high youth unemployment. You’re telling me there won’t be enough willing immigrants to compensate for low US birthrates? This is Stone pretending increased immigration isn’t *feasible* bc he doesn’t find it *desirable*
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