Peter White
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petewhitepolisci.bsky.social
Peter White
@petewhitepolisci.bsky.social
740 followers 760 following 52 posts
Associate Professor of Political Science at Auburn University
Author of "Cascade Reaction"! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H5RJBCNC
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Reposted by Peter White
jmberger.com
#booksky #books #reading #thrillers
jmberger.com J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 22h
I have five ARC copies of The Pope's Hitman available!

If you have a pod or newsletter that would review of this upcoming thriller, or use it as a jumping off point for another kind of article or discussion (such as "creative ways to cope with the collapse of higher ed"), slide into my DMs!
Who the fuck was Father Francis Loyola? Martina Rocha had gone to sleep asking herself that question, and it was still there when she woke up a few short hours later. She just knew it was going to swallow her entire day, so she got up ahead of the alarm, already tense in anticipation of the ten am press conference. [A] riveting action thriller [for] fans of Frederick Forsyth’s conspiracy novels… -- Publisher’s Weekly [R]idiculously over-the-top and I loved every second of it. -- The Optionist
September 18, 2026 at 5:29 PM
petewhitepolisci.bsky.social
In the interest of getting my writing out there, each day, I'm going to post 300 characters from the first chapter of my science fiction novel, until the whole chapter is in this thread--I hope folks find this entertaining (or at least not too cringe, as the kids say) (thread)
September 10, 2026 at 5:59 PM
petewhitepolisci.bsky.social
For the next week my scifi novel is available for 99 cents!
September 7, 2026 at 7:29 PM
Reposted by Peter White
charig.bsky.social
Shamelessly re-plugging my article on the "very fine line between an appropriate response to democratic backsliding and undue political activism by military leaders", since we're discussing it again today:
charig.bsky.social Christoph Harig @charig.bsky.social · Apr 11
Can civil-military relations scholarship provide prescriptive normative guidance for military leaders' appropriate behaviour in democratic backsliding?

My new article in @journalofgss.bsky.social debates this civil-military conundrum

academic.oup.com/jogss/articl... #CivMilSKy
Civil-Military Relations in the Prevention of Democratic Backsliding Christoph Harig Abstract Most civil-military relations scholarship implicitly or explicitly sees the military as a threat to democratic institutions and governments. In recent years, however, there have been several instances in which democratically elected governments tried to use the armed forces for undermining democratic institutions. Hence, military leaders may sometimes have to contest lawful political decisions if these potentially threaten democracy. This challenges fundamental normative assumptions in civil-military relations research. The present article therefore asks: Which analytical tools does civil-military relations scholarship provide for assessing the appropriate role of military leaders in the prevention of democratic backsliding? Should there be general, prescriptive normative theories for military leaders’ appropriate behaviour in contexts of democratic backsliding? The article begins by reviewing civil-military relations scholarship’s perspectives on the appropriate political role of armed forces and discusses how these are challenged by democratic backsliding. Building on previous attempts to conceptualise military dissent and the military’s role in autocratization processes, the article argues that military behaviour in backsliding processes cannot be assessed without taking military role conceptions as explanatory variable for military leaders’ ideas about appropriate behaviour into account. Illustrative examples from the Americas then assess military leaders’ reaction to backsliding attempts and their consequences for democracy and civil-military relations. The findings underline that prescriptive guidance for military disobedience should be treated with caution.
September 1, 2026 at 12:24 PM
petewhitepolisci.bsky.social
I'm rereading my old copy of KKV for the research design seminar I'm leading, and 2010 Peter's margin notes are not adding a lot of clarity...
August 21, 2026 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by Peter White
onetribune.bsky.social
What if the safest place to lose humanity was the very world built to save it? Discover how Cascade Reaction by Peter White explores that unsettling possibility in the review below.
Cascade Reaction by Peter White
What if the safest place to lose humanity was the very world built to save it? Discover how Cascade Reaction by Peter White explores that unsettling possibility in the review below.
onetribune.one
August 10, 2026 at 8:26 AM
Reposted by Peter White
jakemgrumbach.bsky.social
Many myths debunked in this paper. Paper finds that:

-faculty partisanship has no effect on students

-students ideologically sort into majors; majors don’t affect partisanship

-faculty partisanship is uncorrelated with how left/rightwing course content is

micah-baum.github.io/files/baum-e...
DO FACULTY AFFECT STUDENT PARTISANSHIP?* Micah Y. Baum* Joaquín Endara Annaliese Paulson® Abstract We study whether Democratic college professors make their students more liberal. We link voter data to salary records from 33 state flagships and show that faculty skew Democratic, especially in the humanities and social sciences. We then use student transcripts from one flagship to estimate causal effects. Students become more liberal during college regardless of major and sort toward ideologically similar instructors. Exploiting plausibly random variation in when instructors teach courses, we find no effect of faculty partisanship on student partisanship. Text analysis shows exposure to liberal topics reflects student demand rather than instructor supply, leaving little room for indoctrination. JEL Codes: 123, D72, H75
August 10, 2026 at 2:31 PM
petewhitepolisci.bsky.social
Radiation-eating fungus is a major plot point in my sci fi novel--"Cascade Reaction." Out now! 😀

www.amazon.com/dp/B0H5RJBCNC
July 8, 2026 at 3:27 PM
petewhitepolisci.bsky.social
I wrote a science fiction novel about a conflict on Mars between the PRC and the US, and the people caught in the middle. Check it out if you are interested!
June 23, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Reposted by Peter White
ctreese2.bsky.social
Starting a Dad-a-base of jokes in here. Add to the list.
ctreese2.bsky.social Travis Reese (Against war with NATO) @ctreese2.bsky.social · Jun 20
Dad joke weekend has officially begun. Be warned. That's all Father's Day should be. The right to tell Dad jokes with eye rolls and moans in response.
June 20, 2026 at 2:09 PM
petewhitepolisci.bsky.social
My debut novel is out! Thanks to everyone who has provided support and encouragement along the way! 1/
June 17, 2026 at 4:39 PM
petewhitepolisci.bsky.social
I too would like computers out of everything I own except computers.
jasonkoebler.bsky.social Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · Jun 3
A company that makes a no-tech, repairable tractor is having trouble keeping up with demand from farmers sick of John Deere's repair monopoly and simply want a tractor that turns on and works:

www.404media.co/demand-is-bo...
Demand Is Booming for New No Tech, Repairable Tractor
"There is consumer pressure to back away from technology that is unnecessary to perform everyday tasks."
www.404media.co
June 3, 2026 at 7:38 PM
Reposted by Peter White
kschake.bsky.social
"a deeper dysfunction in American grand strategy: the inability to align military structures with geopolitical priorities” @sodrock.bsky.social
June 3, 2026 at 12:08 AM
petewhitepolisci.bsky.social
Currently in Alabama relaying updates to my folks in Boston on Bluesky analysis of the "boom" in southern New England.
May 30, 2026 at 7:02 PM
petewhitepolisci.bsky.social
cc @benjaminahr.mobi
May 27, 2026 at 1:21 PM
Reposted by Peter White
kschake.bsky.social
"It is the most important book on U.S. civil-military relations to appear in a generation and, at this moment, it deserves the broadest possible readership.” I’m so grateful for this @foreignpolicy.com review from someone (@ghoshworld.bsky.social) whose thinking I so admire.
The Book About the U.S. Military That Everyone Should Be Reading Now
Kori Schake’s ‘The State and the Soldier’ is the discussion on civilian control of the military that this moment requires.
foreignpolicy.com
May 22, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Reposted by Peter White
profsaunders.bsky.social
And here's a short @goodauth.bsky.social post on the episode. goodauthority.org/news/can-us-...
Can U.S. civil-military norms survive a polarized America? 🎧
In this episode of Chalkboard Politics, Peter Feaver discusses the legality of boat strikes against suspected drug traffickers, the firing of top Pentagon officials, and the U.S. war against Iran.
goodauthority.org
May 11, 2026 at 10:56 PM
Reposted by Peter White
journalofgss.bsky.social
How should we assess the role of military leaders in preventing democratic backsliding? Should there be broader normative guidance when democratic institutions are under threat?

Read @charig.bsky.social’s article to unpack these complex dynamics.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jogs...
On the left is the cover of The Journal of Global Security Studies. Along the bottom, the journal’s homepage (https://academic.oup.com/jogss) and Bluesky handle (@journalofgss.bsky.social) appear in white text on a navy-blue background. The main image depicts a street demonstration in Serbia and is overlaid with the article title and author’s name: “Civil-Military Relations in the Prevention of Democratic Backsliding,” by Christoph Harig.
April 14, 2026 at 11:09 AM
Reposted by Peter White
kaimthaler.bsky.social
New article! @risabrooks12.bsky.social & I have a piece forthcoming in Security Studies presenting a typology of military responses when politicians erode democracy, ranging from partnering to blocking those efforts, + offering hypotheses & directions for future work kaithaler.com/wp-content/u...
kaithaler.com
April 13, 2026 at 4:57 PM
petewhitepolisci.bsky.social
March 16, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Reposted by Peter White
henrymance.ft.com
how would YOU open the Strait of Hormuz? Wrong answers only
March 16, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Reposted by Peter White
risabrooks12.bsky.social
Sharing this recent podcast by me on how civil-military relations (ideally) should work in liberal democracies.

See here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsma...
October 27, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Reposted by Peter White
andrew.heiss.phd
I’ve done this for 2 weeks now and it *absolutely rules*. Best class discussions I’ve ever had. Best engagement with readings. They write in this worksheet for 15 minutes, then talk about their responses in groups of 3-4, then groups share with the whole class, and *then* we talk about the readings
andrew.heiss.phd Andrew Heiss @andrew.heiss.phd · Aug 19
Updating my comparative public admin seminar class—which was decimated by AI last year—to maybe be a little more LLM-proof by adding a 20–30 minute start-of-class writing & discussion activity. Will it work? Who knows! Full details and PDF here: governancef25.classes.andrewheiss.com/assignment/c...
Worksheet called "Check-in and warm-up" with these questions: 1. Name and date 2. Check in asking about attendance and preparation with readings 3. Write 1–2 paragraphs about (1) what you most want to talk about from the readings today, and (2) why. 4. Write 1–2 paragraphs connecting this week’s topic and readings to a recent or current event.
September 5, 2025 at 1:11 AM
petewhitepolisci.bsky.social
I wrote a "Letter to the Editor" of our student newspaper on AI in student writing

www.theplainsman.com/article/2025...
Letter to the Editor | Beware AI in classrooms - The Auburn Plainsman
AI is taking over in classrooms. To be clear, this is a powerful technology with many useful applications, including in the university setting. There is evidence that it can aid in some aspects o...
www.theplainsman.com
August 18, 2025 at 2:15 PM