RCH: 10 countries that didn’t survive the Cold War

10/27/201810/27/2018 Brandon Christensen History, Links Cold War, decolonization, international order, RealClearHistory, state sovereignty

My weekend column over at RealClearHistory is worth a gander. An excerpt:

Aside from the Soviet Union, this list is loaded with countries from Asia and Africa, thanks to the process of decolonization that occurred after World War II. The French and British empires crumbled under the weight of the Nazi war machine, and Paris and London tried to oversee an orderly transition of their colonies from administrative units within an empire into sovereign states in an international order.

This transition saw three different competing worldviews, two of which were much more successful than the third. Socialists and traditionalists (or conservatives) both argued that colonies should be independent, sovereign states to be placed on equal footing in the international arena with the likes of France and the U.K. The arguments of these two worldviews largely won out, and when it came time to actually govern as sovereign entities, the blood started to flow.

Please, read the rest.

Nightcap

10/26/201810/24/2018 Brandon Christensen Links bitcoin, civil rights, Islam, Mesopotamia

#ThemToo: Earlier women’s crusades Kay Hymowitz, City Journal
Bitcoin after 10 years Larry White, Alt-M
How to understand Salafism in America Bruce Clark, Erasmus
Tigris and Euphrates Rhys Griffith, History Today

Nightcap

10/25/201810/26/2018 Brandon Christensen Links authority, nationalism, postmodernism, public health

A libertarian case for postmodernism Candice Holdsworth, Spiked
South Sudan and wealthy LA enclaves have same vaccination rate Olga Khazan, the Atlantic
The rise of Turkey’s new ultranationalism Burak Kadercan, War on the Rocks
Past Masters of the Postmodern Simon Blackburn, Inference

Nightcap

10/24/201810/24/2018 Brandon Christensen Links David Graeber, diversity, Nigeria, silk

A defence of echo chambers Chris Dillow, Stumbling & Mumbling
Try being a single woman in Nigeria Olutimehin Adegbeye, Africa is a Country
A short history of silk and commerce Evelyn Welch, History Today
Take these jobs and shove ’em Matt Mazewski, Commonweal

Nightcap

10/23/201810/23/2018 Brandon Christensen Links Brexit, economic development, globalization, inequality

Watching a country make a fool of itself (Brexit) Jan Fleischhauer, der Spiegel
Disarticulation goes north Branko Milanovic, globalinequality
The Bosnians who speak medieval Spanish Susanna Zaraysky, BBC
A depressing take on inequality Vincent Geloso, NOL

RCH: Grenada and the polarization of democratic society

10/23/201810/23/2018 Brandon Christensen History, Links Cold War, communism, coup, Grenada, polarization, RealClearHistory, state sovereignty

I’ve been so busy enjoying Jacques’ series on immigration that I almost forgot to link to my latest over at RealClearHistory. A slice:

Grenada is a small island in the Caribbean about 100 miles to the north of Venezuela. The island gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1974 and held elections that year. In 1979, communists violently overthrew the democratically elected government of Grenada and installed a dictatorship. By 1983, infighting between communist factions produced yet another coup, and the leader of the first coup was murdered and replaced by a more hardline Marxist faction (the New Joint Endeavor for Welfare, Education, and Liberation, or New JEWEL, movement). Pleas from democrats inside Grenada were heard by Reagan and he ordered the invasion of Grenada, which was bolstered by troops from most of Grenada’s neighbors. Today, Oct. 25 is celebrated in Grenada as Thanksgiving Day, in honor of the United States coming to the defense of Grenada’s fledgling democracy.

Please, read the rest.

Nightcap

10/22/201810/22/2018 Brandon Christensen Links crime, John Locke, Judaism, nationalism

Pagans against the Old Testament Pieter van der Horst, Aeon
Isn’t every crime a hate crime? Charles Moore, Spectator
How nation-states secure freedom Samuel Gregg, Law & Liberty
Consent versus obedience: law and legitimacy Irfan Khawaja, Policy of Truth

Nightcap

10/21/201810/21/2018 Brandon Christensen Links Brittany, Chile, Dutch culture, evolution

From the pussy hat to the liberty cap Marion Coutts, 1843
Sweet waters grown salty Nathan Stone, Not Even Past
A case for learning to read 17th century Dutch Julie van den Hout, JHIblog
A danse macabre in Kermaria (Brittany) Kenan Malik, Pandaemonium

Nightcap

10/20/201810/20/2018 Brandon Christensen Links agriculture, charity, choice, specialization

There’s a long history of “grievance studies” in the US Chris Calton, Mises Wire
The gap in preferences between men and women Alex Tabarrok, Marginal Revolution
Asians are crazy and rich, but also generous Parag Khanna, Ozy
Why it’s time to end factory farming Jacy Reese, Quillette

Nightcap

10/19/201810/19/2018 Brandon Christensen Links church and state, free trade, Peter Schramm, racism

When houses of prayer become places of shelter Bruce Clark, Erasmus
Race, or the last colonial struggle in Latin America Jason McGraw, Age of Revolutions
Free Trade, Unconditional and Unilateral Don Boudreaux, Cafe Hayek
Remembering Peter Schramm Ken Masugi, Law & Liberty

From the Comments: How can we not consent to government if we obey it voluntarily?

10/19/201810/19/2018 Brandon Christensen Comments, Philosophy Arnold Kling, consent, Israel, logic, nationalism, Palestine, Yoram Hazony

Irfan Khawaja has a good argument on Yoram Hazony’s new book on nationalism, which is being thoroughly and thoughtfully dissected by Arnold Kling:

Does anyone understand the point that Kling and/or Hazony are making about the relation between legitimacy based on voluntary acceptance, and consent? On the one hand, the claim is that in a legitimate government, we obey the law “voluntarily”; on the other hand, the claim is that we do not consent to government. How can we not consent to government if we obey it voluntarily? Coming the other way around: how can we obey it voluntarily if we don’t consent to it? Even if Hazony wants to broaden consent beyond the Lockean account, that’s still a broadening of the conditions of consent, not a nullification of the role of consent. The combination of claims that Kling attributes to Hazony does not seem coherent.

Well?

As a reminder, this is not a philosophical argument. Well, it is but it isn’t. I suspect this is about Israel and Palestine as much as it is about logical rigor. Stay tuned, and don’t be shy about having your say!

RCH: The Crimean War was the 19th century’s most important

10/19/201810/19/2018 Brandon Christensen History, Links Christianity, Crimean War, cultural exchange, identity, RealClearHistory, Russian culture

That’s what I argue in my weekend column for RealClearHistory, anyway. Here’s a peep:

5. Russia’s alienation from Europe, culturally. Russia had long been the odd man out in European affairs. Was Russia European? Asiatic? Russian? For most Russians, the Crimean War answered this question, as Christian Europe sided with Muslim Turks against it in a war Russia lost decisively. Russian efforts at integrating culturally with Europe began under Peter the Great in the 17th and 18th centuries, largely ended officially, though, of course, informally ideas still spread throughout the empire.

Please, read the rest.