Profile avatar
timfrye.bsky.social
Political Science at Columbia, Editor Post-Soviet Affairs, Political economy, autocracy, and the NBA, and not always in that order. Most recently, Weak Strongman: The Limits of Power in Putin's Russia.
106 posts 7,261 followers 2,585 following
Prolific Poster
Posts 49 Comments 1

Note how the passive voice is used to describe Trump twice, once in the hed (who created this "debacle"?), and once in the subhed (the relationship "curdled," as if that's something that just happened, not something driven by Trump's conduct). The only actor with agency here is Zelensky, who failed.

submitted 9 hours ago • 48 comments

NEW: The first front pages of Saturday’s newspapers in the UK. “Ukraine Hero Ambushed” “Trump stuns world with vile rant at Zelensky” “A spectacle to horrify the world” Trump is obliterating the global reputation of the US.

submitted 11 hours ago • 117 comments

The Kyiv Independent Editorial: "It’s time to say it plainly. America’s leadership has switched sides in the war. The American people have not, and they should speak up." kyivindependent.com/editorial-a-...

submitted 10 hours ago • 51 comments

And for those of you keeping score after todays ambush in the White House. Here is 33 times Zelensky has thanked the US for support. www.cnn.com/2025/02/28/p...

submitted 10 hours ago • 0 comments

Trump and Vance are part of the tiny percentage of Americans who sympathize more with Russia (4%) than Ukraine (62%) and who view Putin more favorably (75% unfavorable) than Zelensky (28% unfavorable) today.yougov.com/politics/art...

submitted 12 hours ago • 119 comments

Reality check. Thank you, Financial Times.

submitted 3 days ago • 29 comments

@econ4ua.bsky.social released a memo summarizing our analysis of US aid to Ukraine. We estimate total value at $50.9B: $18.3B military + $32.6B budget support. Value of military aid is limited by old vintage—we track DoD procurement, weapon age & depreciation. Read more: econ4ua.org/aid-value/

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

really neat work here.

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

Trump’s numbers on US & European aid to Ukraine are completely fabricated — Europe has given more to Ukraine and the US hasn’t reached anywhere near $350 billion.

submitted 4 days ago • 145 comments

It is not only embarrassing; it will also make a peace agreement less likely by encouraging the kremlin to up the ante. So embarrassing and counterproductive.

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

New York City; Washington, D.C., and Dallas are the hottest destinations for college-educated Americans leaving their home county, per the latest census data.

submitted 4 days ago • 6 comments

Congestion pricing works.

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

It was so complicated that 143 countries voted at the UN to condemn Russia's invasion in October 2022 and only 5 voted against, including, Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria. Actually, it was not complicated at all.

submitted 5 days ago • 0 comments

FFS New York Times. They’re not *his generals. Unbelievable

submitted 6 days ago • 198 comments

Brilliant but devastating editorial in the Financial Times. “In the past 10 days, he [Trump] has all but incinerated 80 years of postwar American leadership. If you are not at the table, you are on the menu. America has turned.”

submitted 5 days ago • 92 comments

Was this Mitch McConnell’s position in 2009? Hell, no!

submitted 6 days ago • 1 comment

From an expert: "Last night was the worst night in US civil-military relations since the Civil War." Loyalty purges of the military are very, very bad.

submitted 6 days ago • 6 comments

Thrilled to see my teams data making the rounds.

submitted 7 days ago • 1 comment

Three things that make the U.S. the envy of the world: 1) Professionalized military with strong norm of civilian control 2) Higher education and cutting-edge scientific research 3) Ability to welcome immigrants and attract the “best and the brightest” All three are under threat.

submitted 7 days ago • 219 comments

No matter how preposterous, the Times headlines nearly every Trump story as if it were written by the White House comms team.

submitted 7 days ago • 105 comments

Wisconsin GOP Rep Glenn Grothman faced a hostile townhall today too in Oshkosh. It’s spreading and turning into a pattern

submitted 7 days ago • 33 comments

A blatant assault on academic freedom

submitted 7 days ago • 1 comment

Ukraine Fact Sheet - February 21, 2025: isw.pub/UkraineFacts...

submitted 7 days ago • 37 comments

The demands will only grow with US weakness.

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick was peppered with boos and catcalls throughout a town hall meeting in Roswell late Thursday, as hundreds of critics jeered the Republican for backing President Donald Trump’s agenda during his first month in office. #gapol ajc.com/politics/mcc...

submitted 8 days ago • 127 comments

Hmmm where have I seen this before? Oh yea, only in every autocracy I’ve ever studied.

submitted 8 days ago • 0 comments

Looking forward to delving into this wide ranging and all too relevant book. global.oup.com/academic/pro...

submitted 8 days ago • 0 comments

Something you didn't know about Columbia.... veterans.columbia.edu/news/columbi...

submitted 8 days ago • 0 comments

Ah yes, who could forget 2009 when Mitch McConnell looked at the ascendance of Barack Obama to the presidency, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "I think that we have to realize that we're in the minority."

submitted 8 days ago • 13 comments

fact check: since congestion pricing started, subway crime is down 36%.

submitted 8 days ago • 245 comments

Glad to see the pushback

submitted 9 days ago • 0 comments

for an in-depth rebuttal of recent statements on Ukraine www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

submitted 9 days ago • 1 comment

Congratulations. A well deserved honor

submitted 9 days ago • 1 comment

Let’s take a dive into history.

submitted 10 days ago • 5 comments

If Joe Biden said this, the entire Republican Party would be yelling about Munich/1938/appeasement, & it would prompt nonstop front page headlines about whether he was mentally unfit to be president.

submitted 10 days ago • 105 comments

Just why?

submitted 9 days ago • 1 comment

Undermining science: National Science Foundation fired nearly 170 workers in a Zoom call on Tuesday morning as part of the Trump administration’s agenda to reduce the federal workforce. www.wired.com/story/nation...

submitted 9 days ago • 1 comment

‼️ 57% of Ukrainians trust Zelenskyy – KIIS poll released after Trump's statement

submitted 9 days ago • 26 comments

I signed

submitted 10 days ago • 0 comments

Over 700 people in political science have signed this letter - our Constitution is being violated and the rule of law is in serious danger. drive.google.com/file/d/1lGk2...

submitted 10 days ago • 12 comments

ACTION THIS WEDNESDAY: Researchers from New York universities are holding a rally to protest the funding cuts at Washington Square Park at 4 pm. This will be part of a national day of action, with rallies at HHS in DC and all around the country. RSVP HERE: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

submitted 11 days ago • 6 comments

On this, the one year anniversary of his death, it is a good time to remember Alexey Navalny's most important slogan: "Don't Be Afraid."

submitted 12 days ago • 1 comment

Just your daily remind that Putin could end the war in Ukraine by withdrawing his troops from Ukrainian territory. That would do it.

submitted 12 days ago • 3 comments

As a political scientist who studies countries that managed to stop the slide into authoritarianism, I can assure you that ***refraining from provoking the authoritarian*** is not how it works. Without further ado, I will now go tear out another chunk of hair.

submitted 12 days ago • 273 comments

Fact check: nearly 70 percent of US money for Ukraine actually went to US defense industry to replenish the stocks of OLD stuff that went to Ukraine to use. Much of which we would have paid to destroy as their lifespan expired.

submitted 12 days ago • 654 comments

Portuguese editorial cartoonist Zez Vaz reaches back to Tiananmen Square to call on American defiance.

submitted 13 days ago • 540 comments

John Zaller has a great book chapter about how politicians’ real incentive is to be popular at the time of the next election, for which often the most rational strategy is to do things that don’t poll well now. www.researchgate.net/publication/...

submitted 15 days ago • 5 comments

Democracy Dies in Broad Daylight

submitted 15 days ago • 3 comments

Anyway here's how it played in the press last time anything went this far, just for reference

submitted 15 days ago • 226 comments