Paul Manafort was the first member of Trump’s orbit to push an anti-Ukraine agenda—an agenda that later blossomed into Trump’s fealty toward Putin and his willingness to bar aid to Ukraine, damn the consequences.

trib.al/mSM5YXp

Had a fantastic time speaking with Brian Whitmore on how Solzhenitsyn, Ilyin, and others inspired Putin—and how much of the West missed the big, blinking red lights of Russian imperialism, even back in the early 1990s.

On The Brian Whitmore Podcast this week, I speak with Casey Michel about Putin's spiritual & intellectual gurus of imperialism. powervertical.org/2024/04/26/put…

On this week's episode of the Brian Whitmore Podcast, join host Brian Whitmore and Casey Michel as they discuss the history behind Russia's aggression against Ukraine and Vladimir Putin's efforts to restore Moscow's imperial might.
websites.uta.edu/whitmoreb/2024…

Indeed. Probably because imperialism was missing from the conceptual framing. Everything was framed exclusively in terms of interethnic conflict, civil war, and minority rights for Ru-speakers. Imo, the minority rights frame was particularly misguided and is due for re-assessment

It really is incredible how the West, especially the U.S., did absolutely nothing to try to beat back Russian imperialism in the early 1990s.

Nothing when Moscow carved up Moldova. Nothing when Moscow intervened in Georgia. Nothing when Moscow invaded Chechnya.

Nothing.

1/ In today's #DissidentsAndDictators episode, Casey Michel & Elisha Maldonado chat with Joey Siu 邵嵐, a Hong Konger with a bounty on her head after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accused her of violating its draconian national security law.

Now, living in exile, she continues…

Paul Manafort was the first member of Trump’s orbit to push an anti-Ukraine agenda—an agenda that later blossomed into Trump’s fealty toward Putin and his willingness to bar aid to Ukraine, damn the consequences.

trib.al/Mry4Ifp

Amid rumors that the oft-disgraced fixer might be making a return to Trump's orbit, it's worth revisiting his role in fostering the former president's animus toward the war-torn nation.

From Casey Michel:
trib.al/DQsioh4

Join HRF director of Combating Kleptocracy Program, Casey Michel, on April 24 as he speaks with Fordham International Law Association (FILA) and others on how to combat global corruption and the proposed International Anti-Corruption Court.

Register today: lnkd.in/dggRvEVz

As he’s done for years, Trump has completely misunderstood the local dynamics and desires of the Ukrainians in Crimea and the Donbas. 'They want to be with Russia' is a simplistic and incorrect talking point. thebulwark.com/p/trump-plan-f…

Which dictatorships hire Public Relations (PR) firms, under what conditions, and with what effects?

Christian Gläßel, Alex Dukalskis, and I offer first answers with data on 7k contracts between autocracies and US-based PR firms (1945–2022).

The biggest spenders on lobbying in Washington are typically the most oppressive. Recently, the regime in #Togo hired a firm to do damage control after a constitutional coup. I spoke to Alex Dukalskis and Farida Bemba Nabourema about this topic and why we should care.

youtube.com/watch?v=mv11NQ…

'This war is no mere 'territorial dispute.' It is an effort to reverse the outcome of the Cold War, to divide Europe into empires and batter it with revanche.' thebulwark.com/p/trump-plan-f…

Preorder FOREIGN AGENTS in any format at Barnes & Noble until Friday and get 25% off with code PREORDER25! Order here: bit.ly/ForeignAgentsBN

(This discount is only available to Barnes & Noble members, but free memberships are available here: barnesandnoble.com/membership/)

'There were many off-ramps on the road to Kyiv, and Putin took none of them. As Putin has revealed over and over again, his designs are hardly limited to a territorial land-grab in southern and eastern Ukraine.' No point giving it to him then! thebulwark.com/p/trump-plan-f…