Alexander Clarkson
@APHClarkson
Lecturer for German and European Studies at King's College London. Opinions my own. RT not always endorsement. Also to be found at @aphclarkson.bsky.social
After a long road I'm proud that my book "Die Macht Der Diaspora" for @Ullstein, which explores the history of diasporas in Germany will be on sale from 29 September. It looks at diasporas from Ukraine, the Western Balkans, Turkey, Iran and the Arab World amazon.de/Die-Macht-Dias…
Quick key points on the protest in Ukraine so far: - It targets a specific law, not the President; - No calls to change the government; - Russian influencers try to spin it as anti-government uprising; - Claims it’s an anti-war protest to surrender are false.
Zelensky's former Ukrainian foreign minister, referencing the words of Ukraine's world champion boxer and occasional philosopher Oleksandr Usyk, and building on them: "Don't push the horses. They kick back." "донт пуш зе хорсес... зей кік бек."
This thread about disastrous UK water industry privatisation is fascinating in how it echoes so many of the same failures and societal distortions you got in the post-Soviet and Arab worlds after botched market reforms in the 1990s and 2000s
The organisation was full of smart but highly doctrinal economists attached to the textbook model of free markets + competition, and blind to the dynamics of power and rent extraction Public ownership - the norm across the world - was seen as “backwards”
Until recently I was doubtful that anyone replacing Yermak as Zelensky's political fixer would do better because so much of why such figures engage in murky overreach is the product of structural factors in the system. But after the last few months anyone else couldn't do worse
Polish PM Donald Tusk is presenting his new cabinet after a major reshuffle conducted in the aftermath of the lost presidential election in June
Good thread and I agree with the final point on how this echoes the protests in 2000-01. Yesterday was probably the start of Ukraine's postwar politics.
2025: anti-corruption protests – these are likely to fade, overshadowed by the far greater challenge of ongoing Russian aggression. Still, they may come to be seen as a precursor to a future political shift, much like “Ukraine without Kuchma” was for the “Orange Revolution”,…
Approximately every ten years, Ukrainians launch mass anti-government protests. The reasons for discontent vary, but the frequency is strikingly consistent. 1/6
Was passiert gerade in Ukraine? Es ist ein Gesetz beschlossen worden, das den Kampf gegen Korruption erschweren könnte. In mehreren Städten protestierten Tausende Menschen dagegen. Im Fokus der Kritik: Präsident Selenskyj. Ein Überblick von @F_Kellermann. tagesschau.de/ausland/europa…
July 22 (Reuters) - The Syrian defence ministry said on Tuesday it was aware of reports of "shocking violations" by people wearing military fatigues in the country's predominantly Druze city of Sweida, and said it would launch an investigation.
🇮🇷 The New York Times: Iranian officials believe Israel is linked to the mysterious explosions in Iran over the past two weeks but are refraining from directly accusing Israel, fearing it would necessitate a response. The explosions and fires occurred with unusual frequency,…
NEW: In private, Iranian officials and a European official believe that the string of mysterious fires in Iran are a result of sabotage and suspect Israel of involvement. - NYT
Toyota is up +8% on the news of a 15% tariff. Why? It's simple. Ford, GM, Tesla, and all the other American manufacturers are going to be paying 50% more for their steel, 50% more for their copper, 25% more for their Canadian production, 25% more for their Mexican production,…
Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence chief Budanov weighs in on the crisis triggered by Zelensky dismantling 🇺🇦 independent anti-corruption institutions: “The nation will lose if it is torn apart from within… I am certain that Ukraine will be saved by a strong military and strong…
⚡️Lawmakers seek Constitutional Court review of law curtailing independence of Ukraine's anti-graft agencies. Lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak claimed that procedural rules were violated during the bill's passage, making the constitutional challenge viable. kyivindependent.com/lawmakers-seek…
Instead of replying to each question, I decided to put together a thread that better explains the context of the recent protest, and why this particular law triggered such an unexpected reaction, especially for those, who don’t follow internal Ukrainian politics. 🧵Thread:
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised that Ukraine’s anti-corruption infrastructure will continue to operate after signing a bill affecting the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office into law. hromadske.ua/en/politics/24…
In der Linkspartei gibt es Mehrheiten, die für Russland, für Putin, gegen die Ukraine sind. Und nun das! Die RSL ist in Russland als feindliche Organisation eingestuft und verboten worden. Kommt diese Mehrheit in der Partei nun zur Besinnung? taz.de/Russland-eskal…
The reason why Ukrainians are free to protest peacefully in Kyiv (in this case about a law just passed by parliament) is because they haven’t “ended the war” by surrendering to Putin and abolishing their democracy.
Huge protests erupt in Kyiv against Ukrainian President Zelensky as he is a dictator and refuses to make a peace deal and end the war. Good for the Ukrainian people! Throw him out of office! And America must STOP funding and sending weapons!!!
⚡️🇺🇦 Zelensky: I spoke with the head of NABU, SAPO, Prosecutor, Head of SBU. The anti-corruption infrastructure will work. Only without Russian influence - everything needs to be cleaned of this. And there must be more justice. Of course, NABU and SAPO will work. And it is…
Zelensky finally speaks. And he digs in, claiming his move today to consolidate power and destroy independent investigative bodies was about purging Russian spies. “The anti-corruption infrastructure will operate. But only without Russian influences – everything must be cleansed…