Kurt Bassuener
@kurtbassuener.bsky.social
Co-Founder and Senior Associate @DPC_global.bluesky.social; former Fulbrighter - PhD at St. Andrews; Angry Optimist
Reposted by Kurt Bassuener
Preliminary results from yesterday’s general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina – the first with an electronic voting system intended to reduce fraud – indicate considerable strengthening of nationalist parties in legislatures in both entities, at the state and entity levels. 1/
October 5, 2026 at 6:34 AM
Preliminary results from yesterday’s general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina – the first with an electronic voting system intended to reduce fraud – indicate considerable strengthening of nationalist parties in legislatures in both entities, at the state and entity levels. 1/
Reposted by Kurt Bassuener
I spoke with WXXI’s Evan Dawson about Route 66, including how roadtrips can connect people. We also talked about politics, how we would not want AI to plan/drive the route for us, & why you should not accept gifts from oligarchs along the way. Listen at podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
Valery Perry went on the road in search of democracy
Podcast Episode · Connections Podcast · September 28 · 51m
podcasts.apple.com
September 28, 2026 at 8:27 PM
I spoke with WXXI’s Evan Dawson about Route 66, including how roadtrips can connect people. We also talked about politics, how we would not want AI to plan/drive the route for us, & why you should not accept gifts from oligarchs along the way. Listen at podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
Reposted by Kurt Bassuener
Great chat with Eric Manton about “Adversarial Analysis,” a model of anti-democratic dynamics in the US. He looks at 4 factions: Corporatist Oligarchs, Christian Nationalists/Heritage, MAGA, & Dystopian Tech Bros - with Pres. Trump as the bonding agent. Listen at
open.spotify.com/episode/2R9U...
open.spotify.com/episode/2R9U...
DPC Talks with Eric Manton (U.S.)
DPC Voice - A Podcast from the Democratization Policy Council · Episode
open.spotify.com
September 23, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Great chat with Eric Manton about “Adversarial Analysis,” a model of anti-democratic dynamics in the US. He looks at 4 factions: Corporatist Oligarchs, Christian Nationalists/Heritage, MAGA, & Dystopian Tech Bros - with Pres. Trump as the bonding agent. Listen at
open.spotify.com/episode/2R9U...
open.spotify.com/episode/2R9U...
Reposted by Kurt Bassuener
So the US is “working on a deal” to buy Potash from a dictator allied with Putin instead of Canada.
September 21, 2026 at 3:40 PM
So the US is “working on a deal” to buy Potash from a dictator allied with Putin instead of Canada.
A(nother) book I'm going to want to read
www.npr.org/2026/09/21/n...
www.npr.org/2026/09/21/n...
'Crossing the Red Line' examines the Biden administration and Israel's war in Gaza
NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Akbar Shahid Ahmed, author of "Crossing the Red Line: Biden, His Advisors, and Israel's War in Gaza"
www.npr.org
September 21, 2026 at 11:33 AM
A(nother) book I'm going to want to read
www.npr.org/2026/09/21/n...
www.npr.org/2026/09/21/n...
We need more of this. Well done (again), Senator! And pegged exactly: the shamelessness demonstrates the presumption of impunity.
Ossoff: Did you see this business about Don Jr.‘s wedding in the Bahamas? Where he received, apparently, a cash gift from a Russian oligarch connected to the Kremlin? This man, Kremlev, was apparently in China with Putin two days before he flew to the Bahamas for Don Jr.’s wedding…
September 20, 2026 at 3:24 PM
We need more of this. Well done (again), Senator! And pegged exactly: the shamelessness demonstrates the presumption of impunity.
Hear hear! A great speech.
"Europe and Canada are stronger together...The objective is not self-sufficiency, it is collective resilience."
These are crucial elements of a community of values we call Europe+, from Kharkiv to Kelowna. Carney's done a great deal in a short time to assemble it.
"Europe and Canada are stronger together...The objective is not self-sufficiency, it is collective resilience."
These are crucial elements of a community of values we call Europe+, from Kharkiv to Kelowna. Carney's done a great deal in a short time to assemble it.
PM Mark Carney's speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg today (beginning at 26'00) is a real rhetorical tour de force, hardly noticed in the US media. It merits being heard and thought about. And it starts with a remembrance of Goethe. www.youtube.com/live/cMHmZHD...
EU and Canada are 'stronger together' says Carney to EU Parliament | DW News
YouTube video by DW News
www.youtube.com
September 18, 2026 at 7:14 PM
Hear hear! A great speech.
"Europe and Canada are stronger together...The objective is not self-sufficiency, it is collective resilience."
These are crucial elements of a community of values we call Europe+, from Kharkiv to Kelowna. Carney's done a great deal in a short time to assemble it.
"Europe and Canada are stronger together...The objective is not self-sufficiency, it is collective resilience."
These are crucial elements of a community of values we call Europe+, from Kharkiv to Kelowna. Carney's done a great deal in a short time to assemble it.
Reposted by Kurt Bassuener
More customers for our businesses. More investment in our industries. More choices for work and education.
That’s what a stronger alliance with the EU can deliver.
That’s what a stronger alliance with the EU can deliver.
September 18, 2026 at 4:52 PM
More customers for our businesses. More investment in our industries. More choices for work and education.
That’s what a stronger alliance with the EU can deliver.
That’s what a stronger alliance with the EU can deliver.
Reposted by Kurt Bassuener
Don Jr. & Eric have major investments in data centers and AI infrastructure.
Don. Jr's firm 1789 Capital also has shares in major tech companies working in AI.
Donald's own stock portfolio itself is heavily invested in Big Tech stocks.
When Trump says AI doesn't need guardrails, follow the money.
Don. Jr's firm 1789 Capital also has shares in major tech companies working in AI.
Donald's own stock portfolio itself is heavily invested in Big Tech stocks.
When Trump says AI doesn't need guardrails, follow the money.
September 16, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Don Jr. & Eric have major investments in data centers and AI infrastructure.
Don. Jr's firm 1789 Capital also has shares in major tech companies working in AI.
Donald's own stock portfolio itself is heavily invested in Big Tech stocks.
When Trump says AI doesn't need guardrails, follow the money.
Don. Jr's firm 1789 Capital also has shares in major tech companies working in AI.
Donald's own stock portfolio itself is heavily invested in Big Tech stocks.
When Trump says AI doesn't need guardrails, follow the money.
Very well put together report by @detektorba.bsky.social on Republika Srpska lobbying in the US and policy shifts under Trump 2.0. 👇
lobiranje.detektor.ba/en/index.html
lobiranje.detektor.ba/en/index.html
Bosnia’s Mainly Serb Entity Ramps Up Lobbying Outlay under Trump
Donald Trump’s second term has coincided with a significant increase in lobbying efforts by Bosnia’s Republika Srpska entity, resulting, it seems, in the lifting of US sanctions on Milorad Dodik and h...
lobiranje.detektor.ba
September 14, 2026 at 8:48 AM
Very well put together report by @detektorba.bsky.social on Republika Srpska lobbying in the US and policy shifts under Trump 2.0. 👇
lobiranje.detektor.ba/en/index.html
lobiranje.detektor.ba/en/index.html
The launch of another thought-provoking series on CBC Ideas with Nahla Ayed. An excellent panel discussion on critical junctures and establishment agency in the rise and fall of Italian fascism. 👇
www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
What Mussolini's rise and fall reveals about modern authoritarianism
In 1922, Benito Mussolini took power in Italy. Sustained by a cult of personality and iron-fisted suppression of dissent, Mussolini transformed the nation into a single-party state. Nahlah Ayed and pa...
www.cbc.ca
September 14, 2026 at 5:41 AM
The launch of another thought-provoking series on CBC Ideas with Nahla Ayed. An excellent panel discussion on critical junctures and establishment agency in the rise and fall of Italian fascism. 👇
www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
Thank you, Canada! Many of us remember and are grateful, are terribly shamed by our predatory "leadership," and will do all we can to win back your trust and friendship after we get rid of these bastards...
On 9/11, the people of Gander stepped up. They showed the very best of Canada.
September 11, 2026 at 8:51 PM
Thank you, Canada! Many of us remember and are grateful, are terribly shamed by our predatory "leadership," and will do all we can to win back your trust and friendship after we get rid of these bastards...
Reposted by Kurt Bassuener
Great chat with Ivan Stefanovski in Skopje on the diminished credibility of the EU enlargement process among people in N Macedonia, the impact of US disengagement, & the bigger picture changing geopolitics that affect the country, the region & beyond. Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/77H0...
DPC talks with Ivan Stefanovski (Skopje, North Macedonia)
DPC Voice - A Podcast from the Democratization Policy Council · Episode
open.spotify.com
September 11, 2026 at 10:35 AM
Great chat with Ivan Stefanovski in Skopje on the diminished credibility of the EU enlargement process among people in N Macedonia, the impact of US disengagement, & the bigger picture changing geopolitics that affect the country, the region & beyond. Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/77H0...
Reposted by Kurt Bassuener
"This is not the first time you've been demoted to YouTube... Why are they so scared of you?"
Here is @jimmykimmel.com's online-only sit-down with @jamestalarico.bsky.social youtu.be/WLDE9LrGpNk?...
Here is @jimmykimmel.com's online-only sit-down with @jamestalarico.bsky.social youtu.be/WLDE9LrGpNk?...
Jimmy Kimmel’s Interview with James Talarico That the FCC Doesn’t Want You To See
YouTube video by Jimmy Kimmel Live
youtu.be
September 11, 2026 at 3:10 AM
"This is not the first time you've been demoted to YouTube... Why are they so scared of you?"
Here is @jimmykimmel.com's online-only sit-down with @jamestalarico.bsky.social youtu.be/WLDE9LrGpNk?...
Here is @jimmykimmel.com's online-only sit-down with @jamestalarico.bsky.social youtu.be/WLDE9LrGpNk?...
Reposted by Kurt Bassuener
It was my great pleasure talking with Valery Perry for DPC Voice. I hope you find it interesting
My friend and colleague Valery Perry's discussion with @ahnidzara.bsky.social yesterday, on Serbian state and RS glorification of genocidal war criminal Ratko Mladic - its antecedents and effects, in the latest episode of DPC Voice. Links to their conversation in posts below. 👇
I spoke with Nidzara Ahmetasevic about the glorification of war criminal Ratko Mladic, & the spectacle of his funeral in Belgrade. We discused these dynamics in the region & beyond, & how language, memory & denial can feed polarization, hate & fascism. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...
September 10, 2026 at 7:35 AM
It was my great pleasure talking with Valery Perry for DPC Voice. I hope you find it interesting
Reposted by Kurt Bassuener
Please enjoy my cartoon in today's Toronto Star
September 9, 2026 at 12:09 PM
Please enjoy my cartoon in today's Toronto Star
Reposted by Kurt Bassuener
I spoke with Damir Kapidzic of the University of Sarajevo about citizens' assemblies - a form of democratic innovation. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...
DPC talks with Damir Kapidzic (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Podcast Episode · DPC Voice - A Podcast from the Democratization Policy Council · September 9 · 46m
podcasts.apple.com
September 9, 2026 at 3:50 PM
I spoke with Damir Kapidzic of the University of Sarajevo about citizens' assemblies - a form of democratic innovation. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...
My friend and colleague Valery Perry's discussion with @ahnidzara.bsky.social yesterday, on Serbian state and RS glorification of genocidal war criminal Ratko Mladic - its antecedents and effects, in the latest episode of DPC Voice. Links to their conversation in posts below. 👇
I spoke with Nidzara Ahmetasevic about the glorification of war criminal Ratko Mladic, & the spectacle of his funeral in Belgrade. We discused these dynamics in the region & beyond, & how language, memory & denial can feed polarization, hate & fascism. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...
DPC talks with Nidzara Ahmetasevic (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Podcast Episode · DPC Voice - A Podcast from the Democratization Policy Council · September 8 · 53m
podcasts.apple.com
September 9, 2026 at 5:57 AM
My friend and colleague Valery Perry's discussion with @ahnidzara.bsky.social yesterday, on Serbian state and RS glorification of genocidal war criminal Ratko Mladic - its antecedents and effects, in the latest episode of DPC Voice. Links to their conversation in posts below. 👇
Reposted by Kurt Bassuener
Trump's need to assert dominance is igniting patriotism abroad and a backlash at home.
His ridiculous bullying of Canada is completely backfiring.
My latest for The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/sep/02/trump-canada-tariffs-trade-war-backfiring
His ridiculous bullying of Canada is completely backfiring.
My latest for The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/sep/02/trump-canada-tariffs-trade-war-backfiring
Trump’s ridiculous bullying of Canada is backfiring | Robert Reich
The US president’s need to assert dominance is igniting patriotism abroad and a backlash at home
www.theguardian.com
September 4, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Trump's need to assert dominance is igniting patriotism abroad and a backlash at home.
His ridiculous bullying of Canada is completely backfiring.
My latest for The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/sep/02/trump-canada-tariffs-trade-war-backfiring
His ridiculous bullying of Canada is completely backfiring.
My latest for The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/sep/02/trump-canada-tariffs-trade-war-backfiring
Reposted by Kurt Bassuener
It’s a terrible idea for European Commission President von der Leyen to visit Serbia in October, just weeks after a quasi-state funeral for a man convicted of genocide and on the eve of a general election. My comments for @rferl.org.web.brid.gy (in Serbian)
www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/srbija-eu-...
www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/srbija-eu-...
Da li je zbog Srbije dovedena u pitanje regionalna turneja Fon der Lajen?
www.slobodnaevropa.org
September 5, 2026 at 3:48 PM
It’s a terrible idea for European Commission President von der Leyen to visit Serbia in October, just weeks after a quasi-state funeral for a man convicted of genocide and on the eve of a general election. My comments for @rferl.org.web.brid.gy (in Serbian)
www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/srbija-eu-...
www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/srbija-eu-...
My @dpcglobal.bsky.social colleague to @guydelauney.bsky.social on Mladic death, particularly on the role of indoctrination via education in BiH in war crimes denialism.
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The first 8 minutes of this covers reactions to Mladic’s death, & the ongoing & increasing trend of glorifying war criminals. I argue that a root cause of this is fundamentally unreformed education systems.
September 4, 2026 at 7:12 AM
My @dpcglobal.bsky.social colleague to @guydelauney.bsky.social on Mladic death, particularly on the role of indoctrination via education in BiH in war crimes denialism.
👇
👇
Reposted by Kurt Bassuener
Good point by Zoran Kusovac:
“By giving Ratko Mladić a state funeral with honours, instead of throwing him into a dark pit where he belongs, Serbia is admitting that what he did was done under Serbian orders, which is plain stupidity.”
“By giving Ratko Mladić a state funeral with honours, instead of throwing him into a dark pit where he belongs, Serbia is admitting that what he did was done under Serbian orders, which is plain stupidity.”
Butcher’s burial: Ratko Mladić pours salt in old wounds, ...
The upcoming state funeral of a man convicted of war crimes is a reminder of how many still deny the Bosnian genocide
observer.co.uk
August 31, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Good point by Zoran Kusovac:
“By giving Ratko Mladić a state funeral with honours, instead of throwing him into a dark pit where he belongs, Serbia is admitting that what he did was done under Serbian orders, which is plain stupidity.”
“By giving Ratko Mladić a state funeral with honours, instead of throwing him into a dark pit where he belongs, Serbia is admitting that what he did was done under Serbian orders, which is plain stupidity.”
This is the sort of bottom-up, transgenerational effort to legally enshrine human digity and equality that made America better - not comic book sloganeering or jingoistic bullshit.
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63 years later to the day, and the fight for equal rights is still very much unfinished. A new generation. Same responsibility.
Keep marching. Keep fighting.
✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼
Keep marching. Keep fighting.
✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼
August 28, 2026 at 3:57 PM
This is the sort of bottom-up, transgenerational effort to legally enshrine human digity and equality that made America better - not comic book sloganeering or jingoistic bullshit.
👇
👇
Reposted by Kurt Bassuener
”Ratcliffe’s trip to Moscow was “less about Putin being in a corner” because his army has failed to break a stalemate on the Ukraine battlefield “and more because Russia assesses we are depleted and can’t intervene,” one of the people familiar said.”
On goes the speculation
On goes the speculation
Putin sees U.S. as weakened by Iran war, intelligence reports say
A classified CIA assessment that Russia's President Vladimir Putin sensed U.S. weakness spurred Director John Ratcliffe’s secret trip to Moscow this week.
www.washingtonpost.com
August 28, 2026 at 8:42 AM
”Ratcliffe’s trip to Moscow was “less about Putin being in a corner” because his army has failed to break a stalemate on the Ukraine battlefield “and more because Russia assesses we are depleted and can’t intervene,” one of the people familiar said.”
On goes the speculation
On goes the speculation