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The so-called "Elgin Marbles," on display in the British Museum

Classics and the Alt-Right Conundrum

… things can be both positive and negative. So I've been working on a page right now saying that classical Greece was …   Certainly scientific racism is arising at the same time, Martin Brunel and Black Athena tried to kind of connect the … Athena was a project as a series of volumes written by Martin Bernal, a specialist actually in China, who decided …
The Course of Empire: Destruction, Painted by Thomas Cole, depicts a highly dramatic, catastrophic image of Rome's end.

Political Economy in the Late Roman Empire

Review of The Tragedy of Empire: From Constantine to The Destruction of Roman Italy, by Michael Kulikowski (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2019)
… 13-15 describe the establishment of the post-Roman western kingdoms and the context of the wars of reconquest led by …
Happy 2nd Lieutenant William Robertson and Lt. Alexander Sylvashko, Soviet Army, shown in front of sign [East Meets West] symbolizing the historic meeting of the Soviet and American Armies, near Torgau, Germany, 1945.

Top Ten Origins: The Best Moments in U.S.-Russian Relations

… Whether regarding Ukraine , Syria , or allegations of hacking in the 2016 American presidential election , those … it.” Unfortunately, both men also met a similar fate: assassination. 4. The Sale of Alaska Map of Russian America, … peace and not to fight.” Ultimately, Andropov responded thanking Smith for her letter and invited her and her family to …

1989 Twenty Years On: The End of Communism and the Fate of Eastern Europe

… Romania. In Bulgaria, a number of high-profile, mafia-style assassinations of prominent businessmen and the judicial … that enabled constant surveillance over people. Lacking a civil society, an independent foreign policy, … essentials. However, shortages and price increases fed working-class discontent and led to strikes, demonstrations, …
The Thirty Years War (1618-1648) was one of the bloodiest in history: 8 million people lost their lives in Europe's deadliest religious conflict.

Secularism, Past and Future

Review of Secularism: Politics, Religion, and Freedom, by Andrew Copson (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017)
… Benjamin Franklin, and others, did indeed contribute to making the United States a secular nation , and in Andrew … government grounded in historical examples. Copson is not making a case for or against religion as such – Richard … dreamt of an India “wholly tolerant, with its religions working side by side with one another.” The Indian constitution …
Gunslingers in the 19th century. This is the Ned Christie posse.

Gun Control and the Old West

… usually was usually no less than a total ban on pistol-packing. The editor of the Black Hills Daily Times of Dakota … the city limits. Another Dakotan in August 1885 called “packing a gun” a “senseless custom,” and noted about a month … defeat of many attempts to legislate control. As U.S. Rep. Martin Sabo (D.-Minn.) noted, “There’s broad public support …
Portrait of Francisco Franco in 1964 from Biblioteca Virtual de Defensa

The Death of Franco

… political transition that followed under the supervision of King Juan Carlos, whom the dictator had selected as his personal successor. Working together behind closed doors, these transitional elites …
Cartoon by Ali Delim in honor of 20th anniversary of Said Mekbel’s killing. The cartoon reads: “Said Mekbel in Heaven for journalists. Here it is not the quills that are missing.” (Cartoon used with permission)

1/30/2015: The Dangers of Being a Humorist: Charlie Hebdo Is Not Alone

… Islamist group that the military had kept from taking power in January 1992. He underscored as well what he … But not only did the rebelling armies target humorists for assassination, surviving death lists that the militants had … lists makes clear that the insurgents prioritized attacking artists whose work resonated with the population and …
Buildings along a waterfront in China

China and Africa: Historical Perspectives on a Rising Power

… during an earlier era of Sino-American competition. Yet looking at Chinese engagement in Africa over the last 50 years … open things up for discussion. If you're interested in asking a question, please write it in the Q&A function at the … and the policy rhetoric coming out of Beijing. So after taking power on the mainland, the Chinese Communist Party …

With a Little Help from Our Friends?: The Costs of Coalition Warfare

… it did in NATO's war in Kosovo. The cumbersome decision-making structure in the conduct of that war made it a war by … incentives to entice states to join the cause in Iraq—making cooperation generously worthwhile for partner states. … on public opinion in the United States and the United Kingdom. Troop reductions by the United Kingdom in Iraq have …

Hong Kong in Protest

… on June 9, demonstrations grew to over a million people, making them the largest protests in decades. Over the summer, … Xiuquan, the leader of the iconoclastic Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and proclaimed brother of Jesus Christ, set about … The war devastated China, pushing the Qing to their breaking point and costing between 20 and 30 million lives. …
 SPLM rally in Southern Sudan, 2010. (Image by U.S. Institute of Peace)

Tribal Militias in Sudan

… civil war, but exacerbated it by arming Muslim, Arabic-speaking tribal militias (the Missiriya, the Rizeigat, and the … places, historic enmities persisted between Arabic-speaking settlers and southern tribes. Armed with the latest … notorious for many human rights violations such as the assassination of critical Fertit and Dinka tribal leaders as …
The Discovery of Mankind: Atlantic Encounters in the Ages of Columbus, by David Abulafia Book Cover

The Old World Meets the Neolithic Age

Review of The Discovery of Mankind: Atlantic Encounters in the Ages of Columbus, by David Abulafia (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008)
… rather than the wealthy, sophisticated and islamized kingdoms of West Africa, prepared Europeans for the shock of …
wind turbines

Energy Policy: How is the “Long Transition” from Fossil Fuels Doing?

… politics have made a difference in energy policy-making since the 1970s, shaping the long transition in new … (supply).   Continuing technological breakthroughs  (fracking and horizontal drilling) enabled them to do just that … While other nations pushed back against using fracking, U.S. production became relevant again. So American …
penguin standing on sand at a beach with a plant and ocean behind it

Early Encounters with Penguins

… then she'll take your questions. If you're interested in asking a question, please write it in the Q& A function at the … can imagine a penguin. So, the bigger question that I'm asking in my book is, “How did we get to the point that these … the North Sea stockfish.  This image that you've been looking at is from a publication of the account of a Dutch …

The Long, Long Struggle for Women's Rights in Afghanistan

… earned Amanullah international acclaim as a forward-thinking reformer – he and Soraya were both granted honorary … managed to wrench the authority to govern from his uncles, King Zahir Shah and his cousin Muhammad Daoud Khan set a … more dramatic campaign for social reforms, which included making education for girls compulsory and (again) implementing …
Greek troops with a machine gun during the war

The Greco-Turkish War

… sailor described it watching from the deck of the HMS King George: “There were the most awful screams one could …
Scene in Ukraine

Ukraine, In a Nutshell

Review of The Conflict in Ukraine: What Everyone Needs to Know, by Serhy Yekelchyk (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015).
… Sea region, and for any government official tasked with working on the issues in that troubled part of the world. A … to make their own informed answer. So, along with Charles King’s The Black Sea , Andrew Wilson’s The Ukrainians: …
Hubert Robert's 1785 painting "Fire in Rome," showing the events of 64 CE.

The Ancient Roman Origins of Government Disaster Response

… work ahead of schedule. Relief showing an earthquake striking the forum of Pompeii, House of Caecilius Iucundus, … he accepted nothing from any private citizen or city or king, although many kept offering and promising him large … to disaster demonstrates that the social network is working as designed. In Roman disaster response, emperors …