Peter Harris
@PeterHarrisCSU
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Associate Professor of Political Science @ColoradoStateU , Non-Resident Fellow @defpriorities | Brit abroad 🇬🇧 #Wigan
Wigan expat
Joined April 2023
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Pinned Tweet
Excited to have physical copies of my upcoming book, “Why America Can’t Retrench (And How It Might).” Released by
@politybooks
next month (🇬🇧) and in November (🇺🇸).
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@tom_hynes
@ashleyrattner
@shannonbgoode
This isn’t the advice that we received at my institution. On the contrary, I’ve heard university officials call lecture slides and other course materials the intellect property of the instructor. That said, I don’t know if this person has any means of redress.
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@KyleClark
@GovofCO
I’m a political scientist and I found this ballot measure to be insanely confusing. I had to read a few explainers and ended up just trusting what others told me. Not a great way to conduct democracy. Ballot measures in Colorado are often too dense for most people to grasp.
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@NicholasGuyatt
I emailed Diane Abbott a message of support after she was pilloried for that. I think it was May 2017, not 2019. She emailed me back on New Year's Day, 2018. Yep, she was spending her *New Year's Day* going through her inbox thanking complete nobodies like me.
What a legend.
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Taiwan is a good analogue. The US doesn’t really support the successful conclusion of talks over two states in the Holy Land, just as it doesn’t actually long for the PRC and ROC to reach a final settlement (unless the settlement = amicable divorce). We support indefinite talks.
Blinken says he wants 2 states. Ok. So he'll support UN resolutions condemning settlement growth? Condition US aid on an end to settlement growth? End tax-deductible US funding of settlements? Of course he doesn't support 2 states. How long must we put up with this farce?
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I think this is true. But it doesn’t mean those calling for a ceasefire are pro-Russian, anti-Ukraine, or unfeeling. It might just mean they see no alternative - that is, no military pathway to retaking the occupied territories.
When there is a ceasefire in Ukraine, Putin will keep whatever territory he is occupying at that moment. He will not withdraw his forces from occupied lands. So when analysts call for a ceasefire, they are de facto recommending that Putin be allowed to annex more Ukrainian land.
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@BeijingPalmer
This is why Kim Jong-un only takes the train. Few tins of Fosters, packet of monster munch. Wi-Fi. You can throw all the fog you want at him and he’ll be golden.
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My book, Why America Can’t Retrench (And How It Might) will be released via
@politybooks
later this year in the UK/early next year in the US. Preorder here!
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@RachelMoiselle
In international law it is an “occupation” because Israel controls airspace, sea access, borders etc. But that’s a legal term. The word confuses a lot of people, who think Israeli troops were patrolling the streets of Gaza before 10/7. These words confuse more than they clarify.
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@johnmichaelw
@yuanyi_z
In all honesty, one way to feel English is to move to one of these places. I lived in Scotland for five years and became acutely aware of my Englishness very quickly.
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@chrislhayes
@ryangrim
Yes but laws can be changed, obviously, so it's disingenuous for Blinken to suggest that the US government's hands would be tied. The US could obviously change its laws to allow itself to fund some or all of the UN's work.
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Faculty giving blanket support to these protests need to look carefully at some of the demands being made and slogans being used. “Academic” boycotts of “Zionist” institutions like Hillel International? This is indefensible and it isn’t an isolated thing.
It is very telling that three of the four organizations referenced in the demand for academic boycott by encampment activists at
@ucsc
are Jewish charities and Jewish communal organizations: Hellen Diller Foundation, Koret Foundation and
@HillelIntl
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To everyone who is calling for President Harris, I say this: I agree with you. It's the best option. It's time to put country before party. Sadly, however, I was born overseas and so am ineligible for the presidency. But your support means a lot.
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My new article for Survival: "Two Cheers for Biden’s Ukraine Policy." I think Biden should be recognized for helping Ukraine to preserve its sovereignty and for preventing the escalation of the war. But long-term vision has been lacking.
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@SirIsaacAlex
@BFriedmanDC
He’s saying that’s what Columbia is doing; not what it should be doing.
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@johnmichaelw
@yuanyi_z
Well yeah it probably requires some degree of self-consciousness to feel a sense of national identity. My experience is that English and Scots have much in common, but also some very different cultural traits. It’s plain to see - unmissable - when you live there.
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@KCMANC
I knew Jonathan Liew at university and I think you’re well off the mark. He’s not any of the things you call him here. He’s actually sound. You can dislike someone’s writing without being so venomous.
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@JillFilipovic
I was asked to spell "Peter" in Austin, ten years ago. I spelled it out, and my cup came out "PETZI." I also get PIZZA a lot. Absolute bobbins!
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Pleased to see my co-authored monograph with the US Army War College Press published online today. More to follow.
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@AaronBastani
More bobbies on the beat, a chip pan in every kitchen, pickled eggs behind the bar, and Agadoo at every wedding. Now I’m thinking about it, the Reform manifesto isn’t that bad.
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@EliotACohen
@dszeligowski
@debski
Can you provide an example of where either author has urged the West to abandon Ukraine? I really don’t think this is true, and you should retract it if there’s nothing to back it up. I assume you mean Charap and I don’t think he’s ever called for abandonment. Perhaps I’m wrong.
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New article in LSE Public Policy Review with my two outstanding
@CSUPoliSci
PhD students,
@irenmarinova
and
@ModernFledgling
. We consider relationship between the war in Ukraine and US politics.
War in Ukraine in a Polarised America - LSE Public Policy Review
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I find this endlessly fascinating - local councils, devolved assemblies with no foreign policy powers whatsoever, adopting resolutions on Israel-Palestine. Why? It feels like the student unionization of UK politics.
🏴 BREAKING: The Scottish Parliament overwhelmingly votes to call for a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza.
YES: 90
NO: 28
All parties, apart from the Scottish Tories, back a ceasefire.
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@AliceFromQueens
I think a lot of the pro-Harris sentiment is coming from people with an eye on party management issues, but that’s not an unreasonable thing to care about imho - not least of all because minimizing internal division seems important for winning in November, no?
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🚨 CALL FOR APPLICATIONS 🚨
Foreign Policy Impact Summer Institute 2025 - a series of training sessions for academics interested in changing the national conversation over US foreign policy. 1/
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Yes, the argument that the fate of the world depends on expelling Russia from Ukraine is obviously false. That wouldn’t matter if US political elites were uniformly willing to pretend it’s true, but they’re not. So a clear articulation of goals is now essential.
This overblown rhetoric will backfire. It’s an argument for U.S. military intervention or assistance everywhere, on behalf of a “rules-based international order” no one can define. What’s needed instead is a viable Ukraine strategy, starting with achievable goals.
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Strategic clarity or calamity?
The United States should be wary of providing “strategic clarity” that it would certainly defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion. In this new
@IAJournal_CH
article, Jared McKinney and I explain why. 1/
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@shadihamid
@MLedgerLomas
@PriyamvadaGopal
@NoahPollak
Yes. You’re showing everyone what class looks like. Good for you.
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@ElbridgeColby
It’s not crazy at all if the PRC has high confidence that the US is certain to enter a war over Taiwan. If they think the choice is between striking first and being struck first, it would be irrational not to hit those bases. One reason strategic ambiguity makes more sense imho.
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No, but Johnny Marr supporting would be nice. Saw him support Oasis in 2000 with The Healers. Or Richard Ashcroft, who supported them in 2002 at Old Trafford cricket ground... Come on!
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@notstevenwhite
I knew a prof who would begin class with “let’s talk politics!” for the first 5-10 mins, which students loved; and then he would segue to, “ok, now let’s talk political science,” at which point the eyes would glaze over.
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My latest explainer for
@defpriorities
: Moving to an offshore balancing strategy for East Asia.
I was not always convinced by the logic for offshore balancing but over the past few years I've come to think it's the only way forward.
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@SanaSaeed
We shouldn’t conflate “the Israelis” with this small, unrepresentative, self-selected group of individuals.
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@NickKristof
You're asking the US to follow through on an earlier (implied) threat - i.e., for Biden to punish Iran for its refusal to be deterred. This is what deterrence failure looks like. It's important that people understand this distinction: you're calling for war, not deterrence.
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The article argues for nothing of the sort, and note the disgusting racism in the replies to this tweet.
Remarkable piece in
@ForeignAffairs
arguing for a surrender to China and the loss of US leadership in the 21st century. It’s a good thing this type of delusional thinking is now mostly non-existent among policymakers in DC and survives only in academia
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@CariTusing
Some schools/fields seem to have moved away from letters altogether and call referees for a chat. I’m not convinced that this is a good idea but other people I know think it’s the bees knees.
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I was around a lot of pro-Palestine protests as a student - including university occupations in 2008-2009 - and I don't remember the word "Zionist" being used as a slur to dismiss people with whom the protestors disagreed.
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There is no such thing as an “ideal opportunity” to provoke a major regional war with Iran. And it’s disingenuous for those calling for all-out war against Iran to cite the absence of a nuclear deal as a reason for war, when they oppose the deal we had.
Now is an ideal opportunity to destroy Iran’s nuclear program. The breakout time is only 1-2 weeks. There is no new nuclear deal in the cards. Hamas and Hezbollah can’t retaliate. And the Islamic Republic just asked for it.
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Agree with this. Everyone knows the Russia-Ukraine War will end at some point. So it can seem confusing that belligerents don't skip ahead to the negotiations phase. Why put off the inevitable? The answer is both sides still see an advantage in fighting relative to talking. 1/
What Charap omits is interrim diplomacy during interstate war is very uncommon, is infrequent in those cases it does occur, & usually fails. Bc belligerents have to fight it out to determine its no longer worth it. Coaxing or reasoning w/ them won't work
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Two POLS faculty and one POLS alum on the field. Great moment for
@CSUPoliSci
! Well done all. 👍
Thankful for each and every one of
@ColoradoStateU
faculty and staff. You make everything at CSU possible!
Not only was today our Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day, but this year's remarkable Celebrate! award winners were recognized on the field during halftime.
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Very excited - and intimidated - to be joined by such outstanding scholars! Tune in if you can!
NEW LIVESTREAM—"Rethinking U.S. strategy in East Asia: Do more bases mean more deterrence?" featuring DEFP Non-resident Fellow
@PeterHarrisCSU
,
@USCKSI
's
@daveckang
,
@SusanShirk1
of
@21CenturyChina
, and moderated by DEFP Director of Asia Engagement
@lylegoldstein
.
This
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This is exactly right, and people who support strategic clarity (such as Richard Haass) usually admit that a war over Taiwan would be devastating even if the US were to win.
There is no "reasonably low cost" war with China. ANY defense of Taiwan--even a well armed Taiwan--will be economically and militarily devastating for the United States.
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This is outrageous. We must stand up to this.
Individual
#Israeli
scholars
#blacklisted
by
#academic
journals. Not only is this collective punishment, but an outright attack on
#AcademicFreedom
& objectivity. Silencing voices based on nationality is hypocritical & undermines principles of open discourse
@CulturalCritiq1
#BDS
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The stylization of this issue as one that has “pro-Israel” and “pro-Palestine” camps is unfortunate. I find most people outside of Israel and Palestine have a great deal of sympathy and understanding for people on all “sides.”
You’ll be told all kinds of things about the people marching in London today.
Here’s one of them, an anaesthetist in scrubs, with his child, extending solidarity to healthcare workers in Gaza.
Now ask yourself why someone would want to demonise him, or these noble sentiments.
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@ElbridgeColby
A few years ago, we recommended that Taiwan threaten to destroy or disable its foundries in the event of an invasion - and were called "unhinged" in response. Now it looks like Taiwan is doing exactly that. It's not a sufficient deterrent - but it helps.
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The Yale professor’s tweet about settlers not being civilians is plain wrong as well as being morally bankrupt. But points to a larger issue that the vocabulary often used to describe the political situation in Israel/Palestine often obscures far more than it brings to light.
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We should all welcome this apology and extend grace to people who admit when they've been wrong. Too many people on the Internet are motivated by a desire to "win" on some trivial front or another. The larger picture is that we need to recognize and act upon our common humanity.
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It was a great pleasure to be part of this panel with
@SusanShirk1
,
@daveckang
, and
@lylegoldstein
. I'm biased, but I thought it was some pretty wise counsel!
@defpriorities
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Exactly this. And it’s also my complaint with “strategic clarity” regarding Taiwan. Proponents must go further and explain how it would be made credible, in concrete terms.
If you want Ukraine to join NATO, lay out your plan for stationing NATO troops and assets in Ukraine in the large numbers that will be needed to make the commitment credible. Or clarify that you think on-paper admission alone will do the trick.
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I still think it's fair (and necessary) for people to imagine what the ultimate, eventual, inevitable settlement will look like. But we should not kid ourselves that the fighting is irrational and can simply be switched off. Much will have to happen before the two sides sit down.
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@Noahpinion
“Folks” appears to connote “ordinary, down-to-earth, unpretentious people” which I find utterly offensive given that I am extraordinary, up in the sky, and supremely pretentious.
Not in my name.
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My latest in
@thehill
: "America is a beached superpower — Europe should not rely on it for security."
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My piece today in
@RStatecraft
@QuincyInst
. There are many good reasons to support aid to Ukraine, but justifying assistance on the grounds that it will boost the US economy is a bad idea and the wrong approach.
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Now out in November 1 in 🇬🇧, November 13 in 🇺🇸. Exciting times.
My book, Why America Can’t Retrench (And How It Might) will be released via
@politybooks
later this year in the UK/early next year in the US. Preorder here!
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💯 - the US and Russia will eventually reestablish relations and ultimately begin looking for areas of common ground. Same goes for EU-Russia. No point pretending otherwise.
I'm not sure why this is a "bombshell." The administration's priority is--rightly--to protect U.S. national security. In the long-run, that will include re-establishing a relationship w/ Moscow.
That was a given from the start, regardless of Kyiv's preferences.
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Yes, I have no idea why people assume this would happen. It *could* happen - but the threat suffers from enormous credibility problems. If this is supposed to be staying the hand of Beijing, I think some real work needs to go into making the threat explicit and credible.
“A key assumption is that the US would succeed in enlisting allies in concerted and severe economic sanctions against China.”
*HUGE* assumption, especially if China wins decisively. Are countries going to commit economic hara kiri in a losing cause? 1/
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@HeerJeet
Jeet, this is just wrong. Violence against student protesters is indefensible - but it is not true that the violence is being done *for the purpose of defending* an Israeli attack on Rafah. Come on. You have obligation to get this right.
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@mattduss
Matt, this is disingenuous. You cut off your quote at the moment she says the thing to which the quoted tweet refers - namely, dividing Jewish students into pro and anti genocide camps. The offensive thing is that she implies some Jewish students are pro genocide.
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Correct! Congress is often enthusiastic about military action. The problem is not just about presidential war powers, but the political incentives of America's leaders. Someone should write a book about it. 👀
All this War Powers Act chitchat is perfectly nice but what happens when Congress votes its approval of (say) strikes on Yemen? These coy & clever proceduralist objections to war policy usually don’t get you very far; better for pols and pundits to say directly what they want
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It has been interesting to watch the Twitter ancien regime - the aristocrats - be torn down or otherwise cast aside. There were academic Twitter users who used to wield a lot of influence, too, and who have since been marginalized. Fascinating to observe.
Remember when this guy was one of the most important social justice activists around, and could command Twitter to ruin anyone's life on any given day?
That was the late 2010s.
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This was a fun podcast - thanks to
@jwcglaser
for having me on! If you’re interested in US foreign policy and debates over the future of America’s world role, give it a listen!
Latest w
@PeterHarrisCSU
on how decades of primacy has shaped our politics, culture, & institutions & why moving to restraint requires domestic reform. Also discusses vested interests, partisanship, how to make restraint more salable, & more! Listen!
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@ikristoph
@ArmandDoma
@pastfive076
They've put that in the location box, to make it seem state-sponsored.
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It’s right that the international community is pressing Israel to show restraint as it considers moving into
#Rafah
, but I’m honestly astonished that Egypt is not coming under more criticism for refusing to open the border. I know the reasons why 1/
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@HistoryBoomer
@TanaGaneva
Sorry to butt in. I don’t know either of you. Just a few points. First, it’s not really the number or proportion of people being killed that makes it genocide. It’s more about intent, the motivation for the killing.
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@kaffenbacker
@mr_ceebs
@JonnElledge
Although interestingly the lyrics do talk about “Veras” as rhyming slang for skins/rizzlas
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@ChrstianElliott
I think it’s terminology imported from Econ. For the purposes of political science applications, you need a writing sample, which can be published or unpublished work, and you need a job talk, which may or not be based in the writing sample you provide. But that’s it.
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@ChrstianElliott
@WDOConnell
I think some people like to have one paper that they’ve put a lot of effort into, and they intend to base their application around. Like a tent pole for their candidacy. They call it a job market paper. But for the purposes of the application, it’s just a writing sample.
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In part, this is because each side wants to earn a better bargaining position. That's intuitive. But it's also because of commitment problems - one or both sides don't trust that the other would uphold a negotiated settlement at this point, so they have no interest in one. 2/
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Reckless from the Democrats. We need to create a political climate where restraint earns bipartisan support, not cheap point-scoring. Avoiding a major war in the Middle East is a good thing. Calling off this attack was a smart move; the fact it was ever ordered is the problem. 1/
Democratic platform blasts "Trump's fecklessness and weakness in the face of Iranian aggression during his presidency," saying he "abruptly called off any actual retaliation" for Iranian downing of a drone in June 2019.
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I'm pleased to see so many political scientists signing this. "There is no way to boycott an institution without undermining scholarly exchange, joint research programs, and instructional collaborations and thereby violating individuals’ academic freedom."
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@stephenkb
Ah, the ol' Karl Rove strategy reversed: turn your own strength into a massive weakness. A classic.
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@sstrangio
@Andrew_Zammit
@SamRoggeveen
Sounds like something Stephen Hopgood might have written, too, rooted in his book Endtimes of Human Rights. But my mind went to Moyn first of all, as well. I can't find a specific article though.
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@barneyfarmer
In Wigan we thank bus drivers - unless they've just "changed drivers" (euphemism for parking the bus in a layby for half an hour). In such cases it is tradition to "offer them out." As in your example, they rarely accepted, but sometimes passengers were treated to a fist fight.
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@caro_vina
@tristanbard0516
@DSAdenver
Yeah almost all Jewish Israelis currently identify as Zionist and they are almost all called “settlers” by people who oppose Israel’s right to exist - so when I see a statement like “end Zionist settler-colonialism” I don’t think of constitutional reform.
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Yes, this is hard. Upholding principles is hard. Hamas militants are heartless killers. But there is no part of the laws of armed conflict that says they can be set aside in light of the abject wickedness of your adversary. This gets to the heart of where such rules come from. 1/
Hamas gave no warning. It made no demands. It drew no distinctions in its targets. It gave no quarter. It has offered no terms. It obeyed none of the laws of war, or international relations, or civilization. It asks for mercy it will not give in return.
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New today from me and my co-author Jared McKinney. Thanks to
@WarOnTheRocks
for publishing. We summarize some of the arguments in our recent monograph from USAWC Press (link below). TLDR: status quo in Taiwan Strait is dangerous, but not irretrievable.
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@yuanyi_z
With all due respect, you should make sure to note, though, that the decision is *not* against the wishes of the largest Chagossian refugee group. The Chagossians are divided on this question, which must not be ignored.
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Back then, I'm pretty sure, it was only the far-right that used the word Zionist to delegitimize others - Jews, of course, but also non-Jewish people who were viewed as allies of the Jews or Israel. It's really jarring that today's protestors have adopted this language.
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This is my sense too. We in the “West” may wish for a world that is repulsed by Russia’s war of choice, and longs to see Putin humiliated. But that’s not the world we live in. A plurality of governments seem to just want the fighting to stop, with less of an interest in “how.”
The reality is obviously the other way around - most of the rest of the world just wants this war to end. It is only the West that thinks that it is essential that Russia is defeated.
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New from me at
@LSEUSAblog
: "America is built for war and is unfit for peace." cc.
@politybooks
I argue that the US cannot easily retrench or exercise restraint in defense policy because of the statebuilding that has taken place since 1945. 1/2
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Biden can only say this because the definition of “war” has been warped beyond all recognition. The US is permanently at war by any reasonable definition.
Biden: "I'm the first president this century to report to the American people that the United States is not at war anywhere in the world."
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Encouraging stuff from Healey. UK should not be a significant player in the Indo-Pacific. European NATO states should focus on Europe, not Asia.
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And if someone has reached the conclusion that the expulsion of Russian forces is desperately unlikely, why shouldn’t they then support a ceasefire? It’s the logical next step.
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@academic_la
I used to be pro-FPTP but now I’m not, and I this particular argument less and less convincing. There’s nothing about FPTP that means it keeps in power “good” parties and marginalizes the “bad” ones. It might equally do the opposite.
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This is a great question. My 2 cents/pence is that it’s mostly unhelpful for
#polisci
job market candidates to put too much emphasis on a single “job market paper.” This is for a few reasons: 1/
So I've been told that job market papers aren't a thing in
#polisci
but I keep seeing references here and there. Is this just because IPE and environmental policy share space with econ scholars or am I missing something
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Interesting piece on US and Seychelles. At risk of sounding like a broken record, one way Washington could signal an intention to treat Indian Ocean states as equals would be to support decolonization of
#Chagos
Islands.
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@AaronBastani
Elections are an issue for the states per the Constitution although of course SCOTUS will find a way to overturn this.
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