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Theo

@theobromin

Postdoc, Department of Geography, Uni Bonn | Infrastructure, Labour, Comics | @tear-reviews.bsky.social | he/er

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07.09.2023
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Latest posts by Theo @theobromin

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Pursuing accountability under authoritarian rule: Thailand's National Human Rights Commission and community struggles for justice Rising authoritarianism in Southeast Asia and globally underscores the need for geographers to critically interrogate this concept, its uneven effectsโ€ฆ

New paper in @politicalgeography.bsky.social ๐Ÿšจ

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

I show how authoritarianism not only erodes civil and political rights, but undermines the organisations designed to protect those rights and hold state and corporate actors accountable

1/3

23.01.2026 10:02 ๐Ÿ‘ 7 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Visiting Ngara
Please like, share, follow, and reply.
What do you think about this? #news
https://africasacountry.com/2026/02/visiting-ngara

13.02.2026 22:05 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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New Special Issue with the free-to-read editorial 'Under construction โ€“ towards critical perspectives on infrastructuring and infrastructured labour in Africa', guest edited by Theo Aalders, Prince Guma, Evelyne Owino & Dr Gideon Tups.
doi.org/10.1080/2162...

10.02.2026 14:54 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Thanks to @drxdunlap.bsky.social and @theobromin.bsky.social for the editorial input, and Human Geography for publishing

11.02.2026 19:47 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Hey #geosky kindly share this CfP for this years RGS-IBG conference ๐Ÿ™‚

@theobromin.bsky.social and myself are hosting a session on infrastructure, the politics of deception and breaking the future!

Deadline for submission is February 20!

23.01.2026 16:07 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Auch Kerem Schamberger unterstรผtzt das Jacobin-Crowdfunding.

Uns fehlen nur noch wenige Hundert Euro, um Stufe 2 zu erreichen. Hier kannst du mitmachen: jacobin.de/2.0

16.12.2025 15:30 ๐Ÿ‘ 10 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Is infrastructure sabotage always a destructive act led by seditious individuals? no
my new article in Human Geography studies Colombian public sector workers โ€˜breakingโ€™ infrastructure to oppose privatization in 1992, and argues sabotage can reshape policies, politicize society & more

15.12.2025 13:14 ๐Ÿ‘ 32 ๐Ÿ” 14 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 3

Trapdoors are usually inert, ostensibly unpolitical rules and regulations that can be activated to hinder certain types of unwanted speech.

28.11.2025 13:48 ๐Ÿ‘ 0 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Trapdoors: Palestine solidarity and the authoritarian potential of invisible academic bureaucracies Abstract. In this intervention, we raise concerns about the latent authoritarian potential of academic bureaucracies to restrict or even prohibit spaces for critical exchange on highly politicized iss...

Our Intervention on the limitation of free speech at German Universities, based on experiences with organising pro-Palestinian events.

gh.copernicus.org/articles/80/...

28.11.2025 13:48 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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If you only read one of this trio, make it Life After Cars by @brooklynspoke.bsky.social & @sgoodyear.bsky.social.

Itโ€™s the most accessible and informative, as well as the most practical.

10.10.2025 13:08 ๐Ÿ‘ 106 ๐Ÿ” 21 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 3
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Call for Abstracts - AAG 2026 | SF
Deadline: October 23rd

Join my Panel at next year's AAG conference on "Infrastructure Monsters and the Specter of Sabotage". We talkin' horror stories, queer geography, ghosts, Marx' specters, ruination, sabotage, and much more!

@geographers.bsky.social #GeoSky

02.10.2025 13:48 ๐Ÿ‘ 4 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
What is the history of member-driven change in the AAG? (hint: there have indeed been previous member votes in AAG, and some were even on "troubling world events"!). The graphic shows the AAG newsletter heading and describes following posts as "a look into the AAG archives"

What is the history of member-driven change in the AAG? (hint: there have indeed been previous member votes in AAG, and some were even on "troubling world events"!). The graphic shows the AAG newsletter heading and describes following posts as "a look into the AAG archives"

What is the history of member-driven change in the AAG?

Our archival research has shown that member-driven political activity has been common in AAG's history, including struggles around the Equal Rights Amendment; the US funding of contras in Nicaragua; and nuclear proliferation and war.

30.09.2025 14:19 ๐Ÿ‘ 7 ๐Ÿ” 5 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
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American Goldfinch got at it in the sky above Seapowet Marsh in Tiverton, RI #bird #birdphotography #americangoldfinch #itsabirdeatbirdworld

12.07.2025 17:19 ๐Ÿ‘ 14 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
A 2x2 matrix titled "Sabotage Matrix", showing the material and immaterial effects of infrastructure sabotage, divided into destructive (left) and constructive (right) axes.

Top-left (Q1): Labeled "Destructive material effects" with a photo of a partially dismantled dam.

Top-right (Q2): Labeled "Constructive material effects" with a photo of a dislodged water pipe on dry earth.

Bottom-left (Q3): Labeled "Destructive ideational effects", with the quote: "We are saying [sabotage] is good, because it has made the things that were in darkness to come into the light."

Bottom-right (Q4): Labeled "Constructive ideational effects", with the quote: "The reason for us being included, it is because of the destructions they have seen."

The vertical axis is labeled "Material" (top) and "Immaterial" (bottom), and the horizontal axis is labeled "Destructive" (left) and "Constructive" (right).

A 2x2 matrix titled "Sabotage Matrix", showing the material and immaterial effects of infrastructure sabotage, divided into destructive (left) and constructive (right) axes. Top-left (Q1): Labeled "Destructive material effects" with a photo of a partially dismantled dam. Top-right (Q2): Labeled "Constructive material effects" with a photo of a dislodged water pipe on dry earth. Bottom-left (Q3): Labeled "Destructive ideational effects", with the quote: "We are saying [sabotage] is good, because it has made the things that were in darkness to come into the light." Bottom-right (Q4): Labeled "Constructive ideational effects", with the quote: "The reason for us being included, it is because of the destructions they have seen." The vertical axis is labeled "Material" (top) and "Immaterial" (bottom), and the horizontal axis is labeled "Destructive" (left) and "Constructive" (right).

Can sabotage be an act of care? A way to build the future?

In our new @antipodeonline.bsky.social article, Eric Kioko & I introduce the Sabotage Matrix, a tool to rethink infrastructure sabotage as both destructive and constructive.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

17.06.2025 08:59 ๐Ÿ‘ 8 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Organized Abandonment | Sarah Jaffe In a time of escalating climate catastrophe, we need something other than paeans to resilience.

In the wake of the LA fires, many have called for mutual aidโ€”which is necessary. But as @sarahljaffe.bsky.social writes, there are limits to what these networks can do. The challenge is to build something big enough to support a society.

04.02.2025 15:35 ๐Ÿ‘ 55 ๐Ÿ” 18 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4 ๐Ÿ“Œ 5

And this is why, conversely, my flavor of radical anti-militarism comes in the shape of a swaggering gym bro creatine'd up to the gills.

27.03.2025 15:10 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Es ist auffรคllig, dass Bellizisten genau diejenigen Dinge als verteidigungswert auflisten, die drohen, durch grenzenlose Aufrรผstung verdrรคngt zu werden.

19.03.2025 13:20 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Es ist auffรคllig, dass Bellizisten genau diejenigen Dinge als verteidigungswert auflisten, die drohen, durch grenzenlose Aufrรผstung verdrรคngt zu werden.

19.03.2025 13:19 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Ich finde das so frustrierend gerade diesen Diskurs, bin ihm aber umso dankbarer, dass er trotzdem diese Talkshowfragen รผber sich ergehen lรคsst.

"Ich wรผrde gerne nicht sterben und will auch niemanden tรถten"

"Aber was wenn 50 Russen deine GroรŸmutter angreifen, Du unsolidarischer Feigling!?"

18.03.2025 08:54 ๐Ÿ‘ 5 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Irgendwie ein bisschen traurig wie Ole grade zum einzigen Vertreter einer eigentlich ziemlich verbreiteten und auch relativ unspektakulรคren Position wird. Und auch spannend wie die Gegenseite sich da lieber an ihm als Person abarbeitet als die Position mal ernst zu nehmen

18.03.2025 08:47 ๐Ÿ‘ 18 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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New Publication: Infrastructural Promises and the Non-Economy of Anticipation - Lessons from the Thwake Dam - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 In this article, Arne Rieber, Eric Kioko and Theo Aalders (Project C03 Green Futures) examine how the promises of large-scale infrastructure projects shape

New Publication!

@arnerieber.bsky.social, Eric Kioko & @theobromin.bsky.social examine how stalled infrastructure projects shape local economies & aspirations. They explore the non-economy of anticipation & infrastructural violence in the case of the Thwake Dam.

๐Ÿ“ฐ โžก๏ธ crc-trr228.de/new-publicat...

17.03.2025 15:12 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Exactly! The first impact is the plan, the second impact is changing it.

17.03.2025 11:07 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Looks interesting! As I sometimes say about large scale mining projects (& associated infrastructure), the first impact is the plan.

17.03.2025 10:35 ๐Ÿ‘ 5 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
The non-economy of anticipation in the construction phase of large dams Large-scale infrastructure projects often include government promises and visions designed to win the approval and support of affected populations and to attract much-needed funding for implementation...

Rieber, A., Kioko, E. M. & Aalders, T., (2025) โ€œThe non-economy of anticipation in the construction phase of large damsโ€, Journal of Political Ecology 32(1): 6117. doi.org/10.2458/jpe....

@changetanzania.bsky.social @arnerieber.bsky.social @pollenetwork.bsky.social

17.03.2025 10:31 ๐Ÿ‘ 6 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 2

Really happy to see our article in JPE! In it, we discuss the 'non-economy of anticipation', a double vision in the construction phase of infrastructure, where future promises collide with the actual realities of implementation. We show how this leads to apathy and infrastructural violence.

17.03.2025 10:51 ๐Ÿ‘ 7 ๐Ÿ” 4 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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New Publication: How Labour has the Potential to Make Marginalised Futures Visible and Real - Collaborative Research Center TRR 228 In this recent publication, researchers Theo Aalders and Detlef Mรผller-Mahn (Project C03 Green Futures) explore how labor shapes future-making in East African

New Publication!

@theobromin.bsky.social & Detlef Mรผller-Mahn explore how labor shapes future-making in East African infrastructure projects.

๐Ÿ“ฐโžก๏ธhttps://crc-trr228.de/new-publication-how-labour-has-the-potential-to-make-marginalised-futures-visible-and-real/

12.03.2025 11:40 ๐Ÿ‘ 7 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Tagesschau: โ€žNach Autofahrt in Menschengruppe. Haftbefehl gegen Tatverdรคchtigen.โ€œ

Tagesschau: โ€žNach Autofahrt in Menschengruppe. Haftbefehl gegen Tatverdรคchtigen.โ€œ

Keine Ausraster bei โ€žNiusโ€œ und Axel Springer. Kein 5-Punkte-Plan von Merz. Keine Forderung nach Gesetzesverschรคrfungen von Markus Sรถder. Kein Brennpunkt. Keine Sondersendung bei Markus Lanz. Die Tagesschau spricht von โ€žAutofahrtโ€œ.

05.03.2025 13:37 ๐Ÿ‘ 4244 ๐Ÿ” 1180 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 124 ๐Ÿ“Œ 62

So, anyone wanna speculate how SPD and Greens will justify going into a coalition with Merz' CDU anyway?

- "If we don't do it the AfD will"
- "apart from the support from the AfD, the 5-point-plan isn't that bad in essence"
- "I can fix him"

30.01.2025 06:49 ๐Ÿ‘ 4 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

In their latest publication, our researchers @arnerieber.bsky.social & @theobromin.bsky.social alongside Kenn Munene look at how affected households navigate the state of uncertainty that is formed by threating images of displacement, in the context of the proposed High Grand Falls Dam in Kenya.

21.01.2025 11:22 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Another etching showing a group of people smashing machines with big hammers.

Another etching showing a group of people smashing machines with big hammers.

"Enoch made them, Enoch shall destroy them"

"Enoch" references the hammers made by Enoch and James Taylor, that were often used by Yorkshire Luddites to destroy machines, including those made by the same company that had produced the hammers.

15.01.2025 15:01 ๐Ÿ‘ 0 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0