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Sven Etienne Profile picture
Sven Etienne
@Sven_Etienne
History, futurism, geopolitics, power • Byline @palladiummag, @thenatlinterest
Sep 3, 2025 • 22 tweets • 7 min read
I landed in China about 10 days ago to visit the country (and East Asia) for the first time.

My thoughts: Image There are a lot of Chinese people.

The demographic statistics are not lying.

Even cities that you have never heard of are as packed, bustling, and dense as New York/Paris. Image
Jul 21, 2025 • 11 tweets • 5 min read
These kinds of reports are insightful in revealing exactly what vision influential figures in Washington have for China.

🧵 Thread on some of the reports most telling passages: "Nuremberg-style tribunals" for members of the CCP.

The tribunals will be run by bodies composed of liberals, Falun Gong, ethnic minorities, and even former government officials.

These populations will also draft a new constitution for the nation. Image
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Jun 23, 2022 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
I just got out of the US government's first (in a coming series) webinar on "The Decolonization of Russia".

Some quotes and highlights: "Decolonization is about listening."

'This webinar serves as a space where we can hear the voices of "those who experienced the trauma of living in the USSR."'
Feb 28, 2022 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Not sure why people are painting the publication of this piece as a "mistake". It is still up on Sputnik, and seems to only imply that the operation is destined for success, not that it is necessarily already over. uz.sputniknews.ru/20220226/nastu…

English: docs.google.com/document/u/0/d…
Feb 27, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
This is massive news.

A one off €100 billion in addition to its usual annual defense spending means that Germany will be spending about ~3.25% of GDP on its defense in 2022.

Russian actions may have just reactivated Germany.
Feb 26, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
"..unswerving loyalty to theoretical constructs has bred an academic urge to fit reality to theory. Times of crisis, at least, have a habit of dispelling the madness: It is more important to do right than to be right." While I sympathize with this piece, I think the real failure of IR theory simply comes down to the fact that such theories also impact decision making. Expecting policymakers to follow abstract laws without being influenced by the studying of these laws is very foolish.
Feb 26, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
I am very curious as to how Putin intends to structure a new government in Ukraine following a successful military operation.

The amount of repression that will be necessary to bring any kind of reversal to Ukrainian society's current path is extremely difficult to imagine. Some reports that Medvedchuk is favored, but I simply don't think he has what it would take.

Likely that some kind of Kadyrov figure is what Putin would be looking for.

Most extreme scenario would be that Putin is somewhat inspired by Xinjiang.
Feb 25, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
This seems absolutely right, Russia's strategy for this campaign so far seems to have been shock and awe (explaining the lack of electronic warfare) to demoralize Ukrainians, led a major push toward Kyiv to quickly overwhelm the government. Russia's restraint in the use of the majority of its forces and its capabilities is definitely linked to the desire to reduce civilian casualties, which they probably expect would turn fear into anger.
Feb 24, 2022 • 35 tweets • 8 min read
THREAD 🧵of MAPS of the ongoing 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine:
Feb 16, 2022 • 18 tweets • 7 min read
Russia is probably more focused on smaller Latin American states like Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, but the idea they could actually make headwinds in Brazil or Argentina is an interesting thought experiment.
google.com/amp/s/www.nyti… It would be something akin to Kissinger's Sino-Soviet split in terms of geopolitical success and fame if actually materialized at a grand scale. This lucrative prize has tempted others in the past as well.
Feb 12, 2022 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
Had probably my most memorable Uber driver a few days back in Ukraine: At first we talked about covid. Wasn't surprised to hear he had never been vaccinated, and believed the virus and vaccine had been created by Bill Gates as a way to kill off vast swaths of the global population at some later date. Not an uncommon idea, but an interesting start.
Jan 18, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Or maybe this shouldn't be surprising? It could even be a common trend in the mid-term future. The US will be increasingly focused on Asia, and France is focused on Mediterranean+Africa. Germany, an expected power in North/Central/Eastern Europe, is a black hole on the world stage, a void undetectable except for the economic gravity it generates around itself.
Jan 14, 2022 • 8 tweets • 4 min read
A small research project I did on demonstrated language use of Ukrainians on social media (Instagram). I calculated the percentage of what language posts were in each of Ukraine's oblasts.

Overall, results displayed a higher use of Russian than Ukrainian. ImageImage Languages found in samples were overwhelmingly limited to Russian and Ukrainian; English was negligible. Results also reflected the stereotypical Russian East/South vs Ukrainian West divide. ImageImage