Author: Brandon Christensen

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. Liberal Education and Civil Character Ann Hartle, Modern Age
  2. The Enrightenment Henry Farrell, Crooked Timber
  3. Understanding and Misunderstanding ‘Dog-Whistling’ Blake Smith, Quillette
  4. On class separation Chris Dillow, Stumbling & Mumbling

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. Srebrenica and Demagogues Keith Doubt, Berfrois
  2. Habermas and pimps: the world of the day and the world of the night Branko Milanovic, globalinequality
  3. Why didn’t the Crusades succeed? (Aleppo is not a Syrian city) Harry Munt, History Today
  4. The awkwardness of remembering the Romanovs Bruce Clark, Erasmus

Nightcap

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  1. African-American incomes in mid-century Tom Westland, Decompressing History
  2. Black American Culture and the Racial Wealth Gap Coleman Hughes, Quillette
  3. When Black Unemployment Rates Were Equal to White Unemployment Rates… Vincent Geloso, NOL
  4. My Great-Grandfather, the Nigerian Slave Trader Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, New Yorker

RCH: America’s WWII internment camps

Brandon Christensen History, Links , , , , , ,

Folks, I forgot to link to last weekend’s piece at RealClearHistory. It was about World War II internment camps in the US. An excerpt:

As a quick historical reminder, the United States government, under the direct orders of Democratic president Franklin D. Roosevelt, imprisoned hundreds of thousands of Americans and recently immigrated foreigners for the crime of being Japanese or German (the Italians got some flack, too, but less so than the other two), or for having a Japanese or German surname.

The vast majority of these imprisoned people were Japanese or Japanese-American. In fact, the total amount of interred German or German-American prisoners was roughly 11,000, and the number of Italian or Italian-Americans much smaller than that.

Please, read the rest.

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. Fear of a Black France Grégory Pierrot, Africa is a Country
  2. Children of the Rohingyas and their Search for Identity Iffat Nawaz, Coldnoon
  3. The Invention of Representative Democracy Katlyn Marie Carter, Age of Revolutions
  4. Is psychedelics research closer to theology than science? Jules Evans, Aeon

Nightcap

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  1. Artificial Intelligence: How the Enlightenment ends Henry Kissinger, the Atlantic
  2. What if we have already been ruled by an Intelligent Machine – and we are better off being so? Federico Sosa Valle, NOL
  3. We are in a very, very grave period for the world Henry Kissinger (interview), Financial Times
  4. What should universities do? Rick Weber, NOL

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. How conservatives won the law Steven Teles (interview), Wall Street Journal
  2. Libertarians in the Age of Trump Ross Douthat, NY Times
  3. Political theory for an age of climate change Alyssa Battistoni, the Nation
  4. Nationalists versus empire: A brief history of the African university Mahmood Mamdani, London Review of Books

Eye Candy: Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Brandon Christensen Politics , , , , , , , ,
NOL map SCO 2018
Source

First off, Shanghai and Warsaw are two very different cities, and because of that I think the SCO is a different animal than the Warsaw Pact. For one thing (aside from the difference in the two cities, one being selected for its geographical prominence, the other for its commercial acumen), the Warsaw Pact was a military alliance led by the Soviet Union, while the SCO is dedicated to political and economic cooperation as well as military security. Notably, the security aspect of the SCO is dedicated to coordinating state-led efforts against terrorism and separatism rather than against a rival alliance.

I don’t see anything wrong with multilateral efforts undertaken by states other than the US. I don’t see any need to worry, fret, or otherwise suspect the SCO of undermining world peace and prosperity. The fact that the SCO is made up of cooperating autocratic regimes rather than democratic ones does not faze me. The SCO has been making overtures to the democracies of India, Iran, and Sri Lanka (be sure to check out Tridivesh’s excellent take on India and the SCO), and multilateral cooperation among states is in itself an exercise in political participation among equals, albeit not at an individual level.

There is also cause to be happy that China and Russia have bound themselves up in such a prominent cooperative venture, too, given the two powers’ history of fighting each other. The SCO is contributing to peace and prosperity, and while it appears on the surface that the venture is designed to be a rival of the Western-built world order, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization actually contributes to it.

(h/t Nick)

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. Turkish underworld joins war on journalists Amberin Zaman, Al-Monitor
  2. Turkish underworld has long history of working for Ankara Barry Stocker, NOL
  3. Russia meddles in Greece-Macedonia name bargain Kerin Hope, Financial Times
  4. The ugly plight of Turkey’s hidden Armenians Kapil Komireddi, the National

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. Before Indiana Jones came Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron Blake Smith, Aeon
  2. Can economists and humanists ever be friends? John Lanchester, New Yorker
  3. A Guaranteed Income would undermine the social virtues of work John McGinnis, Law & Liberty
  4. On Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Palestine, and the Left Corey Robin, Crooked Timber

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. Brexit as neoliberal politics Chris Dillow, Stumbling and Mumbling
  2. Russia and “dark globalization” John Connelly, Public Books
  3. Rand Paul finds lots to like in Trump’s presser with Putin Elana Schor, Politico
  4. Did Trump just help stop Brexit? Andrew Sullivan, Daily Intelligencer

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. How sanctions feed authoritarianism Peter Beinart, the Atlantic
  2. Four ways of looking at a constitution Stephen Cox, Liberty Unbound
  3. Mining minerals in outer space: Luxembourg leads the way Justin Calderon, BBC
  4. Europe’s dependence on the US was all part of the plan Claire Berlinski, Politico

Nightcap

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  1. Cambodia and the academic Left Matthew Blackwell, Quillette
  2. Lewis Carroll’s adventures in Russia Mark Davies, Times Literary Supplement
  3. Does ‘Melanesia’ exist? Rhys Griffiths, History Today
  4. KFC: Kentucky Fried Camel Sarah Osman, Coldnoon

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. Belgium struggles to manage its burgeoning Islamic scene Bruce Clark, Erasmus
  2. Juul Madness John Tierney, City Journal
  3. Citizenship is the new caste system Rachel Lu, the Week
  4. Hope and fear in a world of uncertainty Kenan Malik, Guardian

Nightcap

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  1. The lesser of two evils, Brazilian style Dom Phillips, Guardian
  2. Why We Need a New Transatlantic Alliance Bruno Maçães, National Review
  3. The Atlantic Charter, Atlanticism, and Western Civilization Nick Nielsen, The View from Oregon
  4. The Rich Tapestry of Jewish Life Colin Shindler, History Today