Brieg Powel

Brieg Powel

@briegp.bsky.social

Personal account. World politics, theory, conflict, hybrid threats, football coach (UEFA C), Exeter Uni academic, Swansea Jack, Cymraeg hefyd 🦢🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

1.6K followers1.6K following152 posts

Brieg Powel reposted

Dmitry Grozoubinski
@explaintrade.com

Having failed to secure the Snickers or M&Ms that were my original objectives, sources tell the Washington Post I will now be refocusing all energy on extracating my hand from where it is stuck inside the vending machine and restoring said machine to the working order it was in prior to my arrival.

The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com

Reopening the Strait of Hormuz — a critical conduit for global energy supplies — has emerged as perhaps the paramount objective of the Iran war.

washingtonpost.comTrump threats, U.S. troop build-up raise specter of battle for HormuzIsraelis said securing the strait for energy shipments could become the war’s main goal now that regime change and ending Iran’s ability to obtain a nuclear weapon seem out of reach.
Brieg Powel
@briegp.bsky.social

Great news as it protects #BBC World Service a little longer. But would be great to see an even greater, longer term commitment by government to enhance a priceless element of #UK soft power, influence, that's also a key tool in the fight against #disinformation www.theguardian.com/media/2026/m...

theguardian.comBBC World Service to get extra £11m a year in deal ending funding uncertaintyCorporation welcomes three-year settlement as it continues to push for government to take on all of service’s costs
Brieg Powel
@briegp.bsky.social

Excellent 🧵 on the significance of diplomatic capacity in the #USA. Worth noting that the #UK is also currently significantly cutting its Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office

Elizabeth N. Saunders@profsaunders.bsky.social

🧵Feels like shouting into the void, but it is essential to note that the Trump/Rubio gutting of the State Department and blowtorching of US diplomatic capacity and credibility is an accelerant to this spiraling war and will seriously undercut US/allied efforts to pick up the pieces after. 1/

Brieg Powel reposted

Yair Wallach
@yairwallach.bsky.social

Reports say that at least 26 Lebanese civilians were killed in this raid, by Israeli Air Force fire aimed to protect the troops. Absolutely abhorrent.

The New Arab@thenewarab.bsky.social

Israel conducted an overnight raid in Lebanon searching for Ron Arad, the Israeli pilot who disappeared after bailing out of his plane over Lebanon in 1986. The raid took place in Nabi Sheet to search for traces of the missing pilot — but Israeli forces found no remains or evidence and withdrew.

Brieg Powel reposted

Aaron Rupar
@atrupar.com

Trump: “The UK, our once Great Ally, maybe the Greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East. That’s OK, PM Starmer, we don’t need them any longer — But we will remember. We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!”

Brieg Powel reposted

Eliot Higgins
@eliothiggins.bsky.social

Governments and voters are both reacting to algorithm-shaped “public opinion,” not grounded priorities. Immigration feels urgent because platforms amplify fear, pulling parties into hollow performances of toughness. The far right reads that drift as confirmation it’s winning.

Adam Bienkov@adambienkov.bsky.social

Not everyone is unhappy about the Government's descent into anti-refugee politics

Brieg Powel reposted

Kevin M. Kruse
@kevinmkruse.bsky.social

If you think that professors exist as repositories of knowledge that students ask for answers, you’re missing the entire point of a college education. We’re here to teach students how to do research, how to analyze and argue, how to think for themselves — how to find the answers on their own.

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Brieg Powel reposted

Farrukh
@implausibleblog.bsky.social

Here is Nathan Gill in 2014 blaming the EU for Russia advancing on Ukraine Nathan Gill pled guilty to accepting bribes from Russia to promote a pro Russia anti EU position He started in UKIP, joined the Brexit Party, then Reform UK Here's what he said at the European Parliament

Brieg Powel reposted

David Rothkopf
@djrothkopf.bsky.social

Any journalist or commentator who writes a wrap-up of this speech that suggests that any of it was normal, worthy of respect, not absolutely deranged, not an insult to the audience, not an embarrassment for the US, should be relieved of their jobs.

Brieg Powel reposted

Sunder Katwala (sundersays)
@sundersays.bsky.social

Reform and X are not Britain, as John Curtice shows, though this loud minority voice thinks it is Migration bad for economy? 32% of public - but 73% of Reform Bad for our culture? 31% of public - 81% of Reform Rights for ethnic minorities have gone too far? 18% of public - but 49% of Reform

Brieg Powel
@briegp.bsky.social

This from the @nytimes.com on #Israel's bombing of the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. They targeted the visitor centre & the wing holding transgender prisoners. Around 100 transgender prisoners remain missing, presumed killed whilst 79 others from across the prison already confirmed killed

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Brieg Powel reposted

Margot Finn
@eicathomefinn.bsky.social

'Just 40,900 students entered to take history, compared with 41,900 taking economics and 43,000 for physics. Maths remains the most popular A-level with 105,000 entries this year, up by more than 4% compared with 2024.' Both 'Just' and 'career-related' doing heavy lifting here. 1/2

theguardian.comA-level results in England expected to return to near pre-pandemic levelsCareer-focused subjects such as business studies and economics to surpass traditional academic disciplines like history in popularity
Brieg Powel
@briegp.bsky.social

Just when you think the destruction in #Gaza can't get any worse. Good BBC investigation into deliberate demolition of entries Palestinian towns. Reveals that emolitions have significantly accelerated in the last 3-4 months in what are suspected "war crimes" www.bbc.co.uk/news/resourc...

bbc.co.ukIsrael levelling thousands of Gaza civilian buildings in controlled demolitions - BBC NewsInvestigation by BBC Verify using satellite images and verified footage to show the extent of destruction in Gaza, where the Israeli military have carried out demolitions to raze entire towns and subu...
Brieg Powel
@briegp.bsky.social

Record air bombardment of #Ukraine by #Russia last night. Straight after #Trump agreed to restart supplies to Ukraine & questioned #Putin 's sincerity

Olga Onuch@oonuch.bsky.social

Last night Russia bombarded Ukraine 741 areal targets including a RECORD 728❗️drones @ 13⚠️ missiles Reports included a Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile - which reaches its target in mere minutes. A friend “it was loud but I tried to sleep” - she means in a basement on a cold floor Others weren’t so lucky

Brieg Powel reposted

Ryan Goodman
@rgoodlaw.bsky.social

1/ A remarkable essay by two eminent Israeli scholars "We wrote this essay to give [former IDF chief of staff's] words legal backing... We felt compelled to fulfill our human, conscientious, and civic duty, as Israelis – and as Zionists – who have expertise in areas related to the IDF’s ... order."

justsecurity.orgMoving the Population in Gaza is a Manifest War CrimeWe wrote this essay to fulfill our human, conscientious, and civic duty, as Israelis – and as Zionists – who have expertise in areas related to the IDF’s order.
Brieg Powel
@briegp.bsky.social

UN Special Rapporteur: #Israel has moved from an "economy of occupation" to an "economy of genocide" in #Gaza www.un.org/unispal/docu...

un.orgFrom economy of occupation to economy of genocide - (A/HRC/59/23) Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 (Advance unedited...To learn more about Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council and the Question of Palestine, click here to visit the dedicated webpage. Human Rights Council Fifty-ninth session 16 June–11 July...
Brieg Powel
@briegp.bsky.social

This from the @nytimes.com on #Israel's bombing of the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. They targeted the visitor centre & the wing holding transgender prisoners. Around 100 transgender prisoners remain missing, presumed killed whilst 79 others from across the prison already confirmed killed

Brieg Powel reposted

David Morgan-Owen
@dmorganowen.bsky.social

Really insightful piece this, highly recommended

Brieg Powel@briegp.bsky.social

Delighted that my chapter 'Historicizing the Global' in the weighty Oxford Handbook of International Political Sociology is now out in both print & ebook! Huge thanks to the editors Stacie Goddard, @georgelawson.bsky.social , & Ole Jacob Sending for the hard work doi.org/10.1093/oxfo...

doi.orgHistoricizing the GlobalAbstractThis chapter challenges the preoccupation (“chronofetishism”) of international–political–sociological scholarship with the present. The rare studie
Brieg Powel
@briegp.bsky.social

Somewhat reassured that the man who I thought was a spitting image of George Monbiot I saw crossing the road in front of me, stuck at a traffic light by the Exeter university campus, was in fact, George Monbiot. BTW, interesting 🧵 from the man himself here 👇

George Monbiot@georgemonbiot.bsky.social

1. At the Tipping Points conference in Exeter yesterday, I spoke about the likelihood of food system collapse: a massive existential threat few people's radar. If you want a handle on the issue, here's the submission I made to a parliamentary committee. + 🧵 www.monbiot.com/2023/03/09/t...

monbiot.comThe Hunger GapA gulf in public understanding prevents us from seeing how and why our food supply is at risk.
Brieg Powel
@briegp.bsky.social

Marwan Al Sultan, cardiologist a & Director of the Indonesian hospital in #Gaza is *70th* health worker killed in last 50 days in the territory www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

theguardian.com‘Shock and grief’ as senior doctor killed in Israeli airstrike in GazaMarwan al-Sultan, a renowned cardiologist and director of the Indonesian hospital, is the 70th healthcare worker to be killed by Israeli attacks in the past 50 days, says Palestinian medical organisat...
Brieg Powel
@briegp.bsky.social

@cais-exeter.bsky.social

Brieg Powel@briegp.bsky.social

Delighted that my chapter 'Historicizing the Global' in the weighty Oxford Handbook of International Political Sociology is now out in both print & ebook! Huge thanks to the editors Stacie Goddard, @georgelawson.bsky.social , & Ole Jacob Sending for the hard work doi.org/10.1093/oxfo...

doi.orgHistoricizing the GlobalAbstractThis chapter challenges the preoccupation (“chronofetishism”) of international–political–sociological scholarship with the present. The rare studie
Brieg Powel
@briegp.bsky.social

Delighted that my chapter 'Historicizing the Global' in the weighty Oxford Handbook of International Political Sociology is now out in both print & ebook! Huge thanks to the editors Stacie Goddard, @georgelawson.bsky.social , & Ole Jacob Sending for the hard work doi.org/10.1093/oxfo...

doi.orgHistoricizing the GlobalAbstractThis chapter challenges the preoccupation (“chronofetishism”) of international–political–sociological scholarship with the present. The rare studie
Brieg Powel
@briegp.bsky.social

A reminder in @polstudies.bsky.social of how long the #Iran - #Israel conflict has been in the making and the implications for global order. By @shabnamholliday.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

journals.sagepub.comPopulism, the International and Methodological Nationalism: Global Order and the Iran–Israel Nexus - Shabnam J Holliday, 2020This article contends that the international is integral to populism. Thus, it calls for populism scholarship to embrace the interconnectivity between the domes...
Brieg Powel
@briegp.bsky.social

Timely contribution 👇

Shabnam Holliday@shabnamholliday.bsky.social

My article, ‘Beyond hegemony, world order as domination: Iran’s Green Movement and the nuclear sanctions regimes’, is now in print. It looks at #Iran- #Israel #US relations through Green Movement. shows how sanctions were detrimental to organic democracy. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

journals.sagepub.comBeyond hegemony, world order as domination: Iran’s Green Movement and the nuclear sanctions regimes - Shabnam J Holliday, 2025Contributing to neo-Gramscian IR and debates regarding world order, this article puts forward Gramsci’s domination as a framework for better understanding the d...

Brieg Powel reposted

Neil Renic
@ncrenic.bsky.social

'ChatGPT users had the lowest brain engagement and “consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels.”...ChatGPT users got lazier with each subsequent essay, often resorting to copy-and-paste by the end of the study.' time.com/7295195/ai-c...

time.comChatGPT's Impact On Our Brains According to an MIT StudyThe study, from MIT Lab scholars, measured the brain activity of subjects writing SAT essays with and without ChatGPT.
Brieg Powel
@briegp.bsky.social

Imagine if just 20% of that went to universities or the academics themselves ...

Avert Your Eyes, Pamela Ganache!@pressfuturist.bsky.social

Academic publishing revenues for last year were £3.5 billion. Yes, academic publishing generates more revenue than trade publishing, by an entire billion last year. Three-quarters of those revenues come from exports.