Marcel Dirsus
@marceldirsus.com
Political scientist and author of How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive. Hosting The Next Best, a politics podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@DrMarcelDirsus
Pinned
New podcast out now: @hannanotte.bsky.social on Russia's global fight against the West. How isolated is Russia? Why do New Delhi and South Africa have a different perspective on the war? Where has Moscow lost influence? Where did it gain power? Watch now:
youtu.be/mP94WM5HDaQ
youtu.be/mP94WM5HDaQ
Hanna Notte on the West's Failure to Isolate Russia
YouTube video by Dr Marcel Dirsus
youtu.be
To my mind, the key point here is that Moscow faces the same trade-offs as everyone else. If Putin gets too close with Tehran, he annoys Israel and the Gulf. If he gets too close with Beijing, India won't be pleased and on and on and on. Russia is in a very complicated position.
If you care about international politics or espionage or Germany, give the new podcast episode a listen. It's about the arrest of Germany's ex-spy chief and the story is genuinely unbelievable. It just keeps getting worse
New podcast out now: @florianflade.bsky.social joins the podcast to discuss the inside story of the arrest of Germany's ex-spy chief. What on earth is happening at the BND?
youtu.be/Hrxygm3eKm4
youtu.be/Hrxygm3eKm4
Inside the Spy Scandal of the Century (Happening Now)
YouTube video by Dr Marcel Dirsus
youtu.be
October 14, 2026 at 4:52 PM
If you care about international politics or espionage or Germany, give the new podcast episode a listen. It's about the arrest of Germany's ex-spy chief and the story is genuinely unbelievable. It just keeps getting worse
What's the most realistic Starlink alternative?
October 14, 2026 at 11:16 AM
What's the most realistic Starlink alternative?
Reposted by Marcel Dirsus
Trying to save her job, Kimberly Guilfoyle claimed the incriminating texts were AI-generated. Inside her final days as ambassador on.wsj.com/4zydt6p
Trying to save her job, Kimberly Guilfoyle claimed the incriminating texts were AI-generated. Inside her final days as ambassador
To save her job, she claimed the incriminating texts were AI generated; Trump grew annoyed with the damaging revelations.
on.wsj.com
October 14, 2026 at 1:02 AM
Trying to save her job, Kimberly Guilfoyle claimed the incriminating texts were AI-generated. Inside her final days as ambassador on.wsj.com/4zydt6p
Reposted by Marcel Dirsus
‘Starlink terminals used by Ukrainian drone units began experiencing signal failures at speeds above 160kph, disrupting several missions early on Wednesday morning, according to military personnel and senior Ukrainian officials.’ giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Ukraine blindsided by Starlink restrictions and intelligence gaps
Moscow ignores Donald Trump’s ‘energy ceasefire’ while Kyiv’s forces experience connectivity problems on Elon Musk’s satellite network
giftarticle.ft.com
October 14, 2026 at 10:27 AM
‘Starlink terminals used by Ukrainian drone units began experiencing signal failures at speeds above 160kph, disrupting several missions early on Wednesday morning, according to military personnel and senior Ukrainian officials.’ giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Just recorded this and every minute the conversation went on, I lost more faith in the BND. Things are worse than I thought they were
German national security reporter @florianflade.bsky.social is joining the podcast! Now's the time for questions about the scandal, the BND or anything else that interests you around German intelligence. Really looking forward to our chat.
Recording an episode on Germany's intelligence scandal this week. Have any questions? Let us know!
October 14, 2026 at 10:43 AM
Just recorded this and every minute the conversation went on, I lost more faith in the BND. Things are worse than I thought they were
Reposted by Marcel Dirsus
Here’s LL Cool J trying to explain Clausewitz’s “remarkable trinity” to an uncomprehending Joe Rogan
October 13, 2026 at 1:29 AM
Here’s LL Cool J trying to explain Clausewitz’s “remarkable trinity” to an uncomprehending Joe Rogan
This would be pretty funny if it weren't so serious. Motivated by a desire to celebrate Ukraine's supposed fight against Russian disinformation (and therefore MAGA), thousands (or maybe tens of thousands) of people shared...disinformation.
"For two days, X has been deluged by claims of a sharp decline in Russian “bot” activity — supposedly a result of Ukrainian strikes on three Yandex data centers this week...Unfortunately, they’re based on data that has been misunderstood or appears to be entirely made up."
October 13, 2026 at 10:47 AM
This would be pretty funny if it weren't so serious. Motivated by a desire to celebrate Ukraine's supposed fight against Russian disinformation (and therefore MAGA), thousands (or maybe tens of thousands) of people shared...disinformation.
"Last night I was truly struck — really, almost radicalized — watching in real time as experts at the heights of their careers unquestioningly boosted emotionally satisfying narratives that were pretty much entirely wrong."
www.linkedin.com/pulse/those-...
www.linkedin.com/pulse/those-...
Those viral claims about plummeting Russian ‘bot’ activity have no basis in fact
For two days, X has been deluged by claims of a sharp decline in Russian “bot” activity — supposedly a result of Ukrainian strikes on three Yandex data centers this week. These claims have been promot...
www.linkedin.com
October 13, 2026 at 10:38 AM
"Last night I was truly struck — really, almost radicalized — watching in real time as experts at the heights of their careers unquestioningly boosted emotionally satisfying narratives that were pretty much entirely wrong."
www.linkedin.com/pulse/those-...
www.linkedin.com/pulse/those-...
Reposted by Marcel Dirsus
I don't think popularity is a real option for Merz at this point, so he might as well go ahead and push through these reforms before he inevitably loses power
Germany's Merz: I will prioritise welfare reform over popularity reut.rs/4zzn7G2
Germany's Merz: I will prioritise welfare reform over popularity
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday he was ready to sacrifice his popularity in opinion polls to push through long-overdue welfare system reforms that benefit younger people.
reut.rs
October 13, 2026 at 10:00 AM
I don't think popularity is a real option for Merz at this point, so he might as well go ahead and push through these reforms before he inevitably loses power
This is a good book
October 13, 2026 at 9:52 AM
This is a good book
Germany's coalition is providing a politics masterclass these days. Instead of doing all unpopular reforms in one swoop, they're discussing them as long as humanly possible only to then never really implement much. Huge damage within the parties, voters scared, no actual benefit for the country 🇩🇪👍🇩🇪
October 13, 2026 at 8:47 AM
Germany's coalition is providing a politics masterclass these days. Instead of doing all unpopular reforms in one swoop, they're discussing them as long as humanly possible only to then never really implement much. Huge damage within the parties, voters scared, no actual benefit for the country 🇩🇪👍🇩🇪
Think there are very good arguments for this position but I disagree. For example, I'm perfectly fine with taking away citizenship from people who lie about something significant (like having been trained to fight by a terror organisation) in their application.
This will be broadly unpopular with the electorate but I don’t think involuntary denaturalization should ever occur in a liberal society. Once you take your oath of citizenship you should forever be a citizen.
October 12, 2026 at 3:46 PM
Think there are very good arguments for this position but I disagree. For example, I'm perfectly fine with taking away citizenship from people who lie about something significant (like having been trained to fight by a terror organisation) in their application.
Unfortunately not! It's been translated into quite a few languages, but there's no French translation yet. Or Spanish, for some reason. If any of you know a French publisher who might be interested, let me know. I'd love to see the book in French.
Bitte Herr Dirsus, bekommt man eueres Buch in Franzosich ?
October 12, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Unfortunately not! It's been translated into quite a few languages, but there's no French translation yet. Or Spanish, for some reason. If any of you know a French publisher who might be interested, let me know. I'd love to see the book in French.
Reposted by Marcel Dirsus
👇🎯 Again, everything Trump is doing is awful & siding with Putin & destroying 🇺🇸 credibility with our democratic allies. And , everyone who says that Xi/🇨🇳 is now a more reliable & credible partner for those allies keeps acting as if actual Xi/🇨🇳 does not exist.
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
It would've been impossible for Putin to keep waging this war if the Chinese hadn't rescued Russia's economy. Putin's soldiers do the killing, but Xi Jinping keeps them armed & fed.
Russia’s Dangerous Dependence on China 🇷🇺🇨🇳
October 12, 2026 at 1:38 PM
👇🎯 Again, everything Trump is doing is awful & siding with Putin & destroying 🇺🇸 credibility with our democratic allies. And , everyone who says that Xi/🇨🇳 is now a more reliable & credible partner for those allies keeps acting as if actual Xi/🇨🇳 does not exist.
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
It would've been impossible for Putin to keep waging this war if the Chinese hadn't rescued Russia's economy. Putin's soldiers do the killing, but Xi Jinping keeps them armed & fed.
Russia’s Dangerous Dependence on China 🇷🇺🇨🇳
October 12, 2026 at 1:28 PM
It would've been impossible for Putin to keep waging this war if the Chinese hadn't rescued Russia's economy. Putin's soldiers do the killing, but Xi Jinping keeps them armed & fed.
Sounds good, we'll do that
US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker on Monday urged Europe to increase its defence production, warning that US defence industrial capacity is limited.
www.rapporteur.com/news/us-warn...
www.rapporteur.com/news/us-warn...
US warns of limited defence industrial capacity for European orders | Rapporteur
Europe could be sidelined as Washington works to replenish stockpiles
www.rapporteur.com
October 12, 2026 at 12:58 PM
Sounds good, we'll do that
Twitter seems worse by quite a bit, but the general mechanism that works there also works here. On Twitter, pro-Trump content goes viral whether it's true or not. On Bluesky, it's anti-Trump content. People love having their views confirmed, it's human nature.
One of the frustrating things about Bluesky*, is that for all the correct posts about Twitter being a misinformaiton hellscape is that users here are often just as bad about sharing misinformation. It's just that it aligns to their views instead.
*Or the entire internet, I guess. 🫠
*Or the entire internet, I guess. 🫠
"Yandex Strikes Caused Russian Bot Activity To Drop By 50 Percent" Is FALSE. buff.ly/Pa7fvr8
October 12, 2026 at 10:06 AM
Twitter seems worse by quite a bit, but the general mechanism that works there also works here. On Twitter, pro-Trump content goes viral whether it's true or not. On Bluesky, it's anti-Trump content. People love having their views confirmed, it's human nature.
Europeans should assume that America won't come to their aid if Russia attacks. End of an era, NATO is dead.
Trump administration has warned Ukraine and allies in Europe that the US could suspend intelligence sharing and European purchases of US weapons for Ukraine if Kyiv does not halt its deep strikes on Russian energy facilities, two European offcials tell CNN.
www.cnn.com/2026/10/11/p...
www.cnn.com/2026/10/11/p...
US threatens to suspend intel sharing, weapons purchases if Ukraine continues Russia energy strikes, sources say | CNN Politics
The Trump administration has warned Ukraine and allies in Europe that the US could suspend intelligence sharing and European purchases of US weapons for Ukraine if Kyiv does not halt its deep strikes ...
www.cnn.com
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 AM
Europeans should assume that America won't come to their aid if Russia attacks. End of an era, NATO is dead.
Reposted by Marcel Dirsus
It is probably methodologically impossible to determine whether they swayed them, but let us not therefore gloss over the fact that Russian intelligence interfered to help the winning side in the two most defining elections/referenda of our time: the 2016 Trump election and Brexit vote.
The 2016 Brexit vote was targeted by Russian “state-sponsored interference”, Andy Burnham has said, as he warned voters in France and Germany about Kremlin-backed attempts to influence their countries’ politics.
www.ft.com/content/4fcb...
www.ft.com/content/4fcb...
Russia ‘interfered’ in 2016 Brexit vote, says Andy Burnham
UK prime minister calls for European voters to be better informed about efforts to disrupt democratic process
www.ft.com
October 12, 2026 at 9:02 AM
It is probably methodologically impossible to determine whether they swayed them, but let us not therefore gloss over the fact that Russian intelligence interfered to help the winning side in the two most defining elections/referenda of our time: the 2016 Trump election and Brexit vote.
Reposted by Marcel Dirsus
Wer es noch nicht hat und auch jetzt nicht für 5€ kauft, dem entgeht die sagenhafte Gelegenheit, dieses tolle Buch zu lesen oder es zu dem anderen Buch ins Regal zu stellen
Ihr habt kein anderes Buch im Regal?
Oder gar kein Regal?
Dann ab zu Ikea, los los
Keine Ausrede
Ihr habt kein anderes Buch im Regal?
Oder gar kein Regal?
Dann ab zu Ikea, los los
Keine Ausrede
Hab gerade geschaut. Die BPB Version vom Buch kostet 5 Euro! Viel günstiger wird es glaube ich nicht mehr (außer vielleicht im Sale als Ebook). Wer also generell Interesse an Diktatoren hat: Hier ist ein Schnäppchen.
www.bpb.de/shop/buecher...
www.bpb.de/shop/buecher...
Wie Diktatoren stürzen | bpb.de
Mit welchen Mitteln versuchen Autokraten, ihre Herrschaft zu stabilisieren? Und welche Faktoren tragen dazu bei, sie ins Wanken zu bringen? Marcel Dirsus gibt Einblicke anhand zahlreicher Beispiele.
www.bpb.de
October 12, 2026 at 8:57 AM
Wer es noch nicht hat und auch jetzt nicht für 5€ kauft, dem entgeht die sagenhafte Gelegenheit, dieses tolle Buch zu lesen oder es zu dem anderen Buch ins Regal zu stellen
Ihr habt kein anderes Buch im Regal?
Oder gar kein Regal?
Dann ab zu Ikea, los los
Keine Ausrede
Ihr habt kein anderes Buch im Regal?
Oder gar kein Regal?
Dann ab zu Ikea, los los
Keine Ausrede
German national security reporter @florianflade.bsky.social is joining the podcast! Now's the time for questions about the scandal, the BND or anything else that interests you around German intelligence. Really looking forward to our chat.
Recording an episode on Germany's intelligence scandal this week. Have any questions? Let us know!
October 12, 2026 at 8:41 AM
German national security reporter @florianflade.bsky.social is joining the podcast! Now's the time for questions about the scandal, the BND or anything else that interests you around German intelligence. Really looking forward to our chat.
Bin allgemein glücklich wie es mit dem Buch gelaufen ist, aber das es jetzt eine Version von der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung gibt finde ich wirklich super toll. Eine Ehre! 🫡
October 12, 2026 at 8:24 AM
Bin allgemein glücklich wie es mit dem Buch gelaufen ist, aber das es jetzt eine Version von der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung gibt finde ich wirklich super toll. Eine Ehre! 🫡
Reposted by Marcel Dirsus
Just in!
New Nobel Prize laureate in literature Anne Carson stands surprised in her kitchen in Reykjavík, Iceland. Stay tuned for our exclusive interview with her coming soon.
Join us in congratulating our 2026 literature laureate - send your greetings in the comments.
New Nobel Prize laureate in literature Anne Carson stands surprised in her kitchen in Reykjavík, Iceland. Stay tuned for our exclusive interview with her coming soon.
Join us in congratulating our 2026 literature laureate - send your greetings in the comments.
October 8, 2026 at 1:11 PM
Just in!
New Nobel Prize laureate in literature Anne Carson stands surprised in her kitchen in Reykjavík, Iceland. Stay tuned for our exclusive interview with her coming soon.
Join us in congratulating our 2026 literature laureate - send your greetings in the comments.
New Nobel Prize laureate in literature Anne Carson stands surprised in her kitchen in Reykjavík, Iceland. Stay tuned for our exclusive interview with her coming soon.
Join us in congratulating our 2026 literature laureate - send your greetings in the comments.
Reposted by Marcel Dirsus
