Aleksandar Matovski

Assistant Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School. Author of “Popular Dictatorships” @CambridgeUP. All views are my own and not USG/DoD policy.

[David Vance @DavidVance]

This is what economic suicide looks like;

[Ryan Gingeras @nords41]

My book, Mafia: A Global History, is out today in the United States. Rated an "Editor's Pick" by Amazon and "The best non-fiction to read this year" by the New Statesman.
Please tell your friends and colleagues.
https://t.co/WyTgNnjzXk

[Ryan Gingeras @nords41]

Out next week in the US. Out in the UK, Australia Day out after tomorrow. Check it out gang. You’ll love it.
Mafia: A Global History https://t.co/PUF73NNbnt

[Pavel Podvig @russianforces]

AI is being poetic about French nuclear doctrine: "the safety of French society rests not on its ability to survive the flames, but on the assurance that the enemy will burn with them"

[Aleksandar Matovski @A_Matovski]

Congratulations Ryan! I look forward to reading it

[Ryan Gingeras @nords41]

It's on.
Mafia, out 2/17/26

[Ryan Gingeras @nords41]

It's on.
Mafia, out 2/17/26

[Konstantin Sonin @k_sonin]

My X feed is full of takes how the capture of Maduro "plays into Putin's hands". I do not see how. In some philopsophical sense, may be. But in practical sense - it's vice versa. Putin, always a coward, is scared to death. Maduro was defended by the same air defense system, the same specialists, and the same generals that Putin is. The main thing on Putin's mind now is that he can be taken out as swiftly.

[Aleksandar Matovski @A_Matovski]

@SebastinGodnez3 @susanestokes @SonerCagaptay @benwansell @jaffrelotc @RRavelo27 @montenegr @montenegrojluis @fmartinmoreno @JosephTorigian @marcmarginedas @ProfTimBale @WeDemocracyUK @FeniksAcademie @JuanEspejelJPEJ @DrToddLandman @TristanGuerra_ @demotradeoff @matheusagaso @Julius_Ktxt @Orlando0804 @ajutza Thanks for reading!

[Aleksandar Matovski @A_Matovski]

Great discussion with Stephen Kotkin on the Russia’s war against Ukraine and the shifting global security environment. Appreciate the @NPSfoundation for hosting and the input from the highly engaged audience at @NPS_Monterey!

[NPS Foundation & Alumni Association @NPSfoundation]

Stephen Kotkin of @Stanford'a @HooverInst and @NPS_Monterey professor Aleksandar Matovski joined our latest fireside chat to discuss the Russia–Ukraine war and the dynamics shaping today’s global security landscape.

🔗 More events: https://t.co/OFJtkVbgS1

[OSINTdefender @sentdefender]

The Trump Administration has lifted major restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles provided by European allies and the United States, including but not limited to “Storm Shadow” Air-Launched Cruise Missiles, allowing the Ukrainian Armed Forces to launch strikes against targets deep inside of Russia, intensifying pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin, according to U.S. officials who spoke to the Wall Street Journal.

[U.S. Army @USArmy]

Even before the 9/11 attacks, Col. Richard "Rick" Rescorla was a decorated war hero with a Silver Star from his actions in Vietnam.

24 years ago today, Rescorla saved 2,687 people and paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Here’s how it happened. 🧵

[Branislav Slantchev @slantchev]

Todd: Hello… Operator…listen to me…I can’t speak very loud. – This is an emergency. I’m a passenger on a United flight to San Francisco.. We have a situation here….Our plane has been hijacked…..can you understand me?

Lisa: (exhaling a deep breath to herself) I understand… Can the hijackers see you talking on the phone?

Todd: No

Lisa: Can you tell me how many hijackers are on the plane?

Todd: There are three that we know of.

Lisa: Can you see any weapons? What kind of weapons do they have?

Todd: Yes…. they don’t have guns….they have knives – they took over the plane with knives.

Lisa: Do you mean…like steak knives?

Todd: No, these are razor knives…like box cutters.

Lisa: Can you tell what country these people are from?

Todd: No…..I don’t know. They sound like they’re from the mid-east.

Lisa: Have they said what they want?

Todd: Someone announced from the cockpit that there was a bomb on board. He said he was the captain and to stay in our seats and stay quiet.
He said that they were meeting these men’s demands and returning to the airport… It was very broken English, and… I’m telling you…it sounded fake!

Lisa: Ok sir, please give me your name.

Todd: My name is Todd Beamer.

Lisa: Ok Todd….my name is Lisa…Do you know your flight number? If you can’t remember, it’s on your ticket.

Todd: It’s United Flight 93.

Lisa: Now Todd, can you try to tell me exactly what happened?

Todd: Two of the hijackers were sitting in first class near the cockpit. A third one was sitting near the back of the coach section. The two up. front got into the cockpit somehow; there was shouting. The third hijacker said he had a bomb. It looks like a bomb. He’s got it tied to his waist with a red belt of some kind.

Lisa: So is the door to the cockpit open?

Todd: No, the hijackers shut it behind them.

Lisa: Has anyone been injured?

Todd: Yes, ..they…they killed one passenger sitting in first class. There’s been lots of shouting. We don’t know if the pilots are dead or alive. A flight attendant told me that the pilot and copilot had been forced from the cockpit and may have been wounded.

Lisa: Where is the 3rd hijacker now Todd?

Todd: He’s near the back of the plane. They forced most of the passengers into first class. There are fourteen of us here in the back. Five are flight attendants. He hasn’t noticed that I slipped into this pantry to get the phone. The guy with the bomb ordered us to sit on the floor in the rear of the plane……….oh Jesus.. Help!

Lisa: Todd….are you ok? Tell me what’s happening!

Todd: Hello…..We’re going down….I think we’re going to crash……Wait – wait a minute. No, we’re leveling off….we’re ok. I think we may be turning around…..That’s it – we changed directions. Do you hear me….we’re flying east again.

Lisa: Ok Todd…. What’s going on with the other passengers?

Todd: Everyone is… really scared. A few passengers with cell phones have made calls to relatives. A guy, Jeremy, was talking to his wife just before the hijacking started. She told him that hijackers had crashed two planes into the World Trade Center……Lisa is that true??

Lisa: Todd…..I have to tell you the truth…..it’s very bad. The World Trade Center is gone. Both of the towers have been destroyed.

Todd: Oh God —help us!

Lisa: A third plane was taken over by terrorists. It crashed into the Pentagon in Washington DC. Our country is under attack….and I’m afraid that your plane may be part of their plan.

Todd: Oh dear God. Dear God…….Lisa, will you do something for me?

Lisa: I’ll try….if I can….Yes.

Todd: I want you to call my wife and my kids for me and tell them what’s happened. Promise me you’ll call..

Lisa: I promise – I’ll call.

[Stephen Sestanovich @SSestanovich]

Hmmm—how many other earthquakes have there been in Kamchatka in the last hundred years? (And any reason you’re leaving out the earthquakes that came right before Khrushchev and Brezhnev died?)

[Yaroslav Trofimov @yarotrof]

Lots of unhappiness in Russia as Azerbaijan president Aliev accepts a gift of shoulder patches of Ukrainian army brigades from a Ukrainian journalist and tells her: “Continue on the same path.”

[Mikhail Tsypkin @MikhailTsypkin]

Fear levels rise among the Russian elite https://t.co/YABK6WrK4j

[Dan Caldwell 🇺🇸 @dandcaldwell]

My concerns regarding sending more Patriot interceptors to Ukraine are well-known. However, Trump has made clear he wants to provide Ukraine with more air defense assets. With that in mind, I think the best place to get them from with the least amount of trade offs against U.S. and allied readiness is from Israel's stocks of retired Patriot PAC-2 missiles/batteries: https://t.co/IWSrqaMVf0

[Luis Garicano 🇪🇺🇺🇦 @lugaricano]

1/@EpochAIResearch doubles down on preiction AI will drive 20%+ annual GDP growth. Economists remain skeptical.
This is the defining debate of today: AI builders see infinite prosperity ahead. Economists see the same limits that constrained every technological revolution.🧵 1/13

[War on the Rocks @WarOnTheRocks]

Big news: Our new members-only show, "The Iran Contingency with Afshon Ostovar (@AOstovar)," is launching this week. Join now at our special rate: $99/year (down from $150). Limited time only! 👉 https://t.co/zLo2yQjEYE

[Zoran Kusovac @zkusovac]

How to treat Russians.
Jedini način sa Rusima.
Tito & Hruschov 1956.

[Afshon Ostovar @AOstovar]

Today’s events began in 1979 and 9/11. Two states, two ambitions to remake the Middle East. It didn’t have to get to this point but the grooves guiding the conflict were dug deep, and the political will to abandon those paths was never sufficient in the moments that mattered.