- Liberals don’t know much about conservative history Geoffrey Kabaservice, Politico
- The American right wing Arnold Kling, askblog
- In defense of endless war Christopher Hitchens, Slate
- Remembering the French war in Afghanistan Olivier Schmitt, War on the Rocks
Links
RCH: The United States and the Middle East
My latest for RealClearHistory is all about ‘Murica and the Mideast. An excerpt:
2. The Iranian Regime. During the Cold War, the U.S. government supported a number of regimes that were illiberal in the name of fighting communism. The necessity of such tactics are beyond the scope of this article, but the Pahlavi “dynasty” of Persia was one such illiberal regime. The Pahlavis were anti-Communist and pro-Western, which meant that women could dress how they pleased and go to university, and that religion was pushed to the sidelines of political life. This made the Pahlavi’s enemies of not only the socialist reformers of Persia, but also the majority of the conservative religious clergy. One Pahlavi was ousted by a joint British-Soviet invasion in 1925, and his son was deposed in the 1979 revolution that turned Persia into Iran. After the British-Soviet invasion, the United States became heavily involved in Persia and supported the secular autocrat almost blindly, which is why the anti-Shah revolution of 1979 was also anti-American.
Please, read the rest.
Nightcap
- The criminal as entrepreneur Cedric Muhammad, American Affairs
- Did the British Empire depend on separating families? Sumit Guha, Not Even Past
- What does nationalism mean in a contested state? Daniel Solomon, New Republic
- ‘In the long run we are all dead’ Adam Tooze, London Review of Books
Nightcap
- 9/11: Lessons Irfan Khawaja, Policy of Truth
- Thwarting Trump, or the voters? Ross Douthat, NY Times
- The role of religion in Anglophone democracies Bruce Clark, Erasmus
- A tale of two Asia policies Zack Cooper, War on the Rocks
Nightcap
- Nationalism, Israel, and Hitler Alberto Mingardi, EconLog
- How Russia became Russia Harish Yagneshwar, Pragati
- Europe’s deep localism and populism Angelo Codevilla, Hoover
- Steve Bannon in Bosnia Krithika Varagur, NY Review of Books
Nightcap
- Why don’t Japanese and Taiwanese militaries talk to each other? Katsuya Yamamoto, National Interest
- The fraud of foreign aid Kenan Malik, Guardian
- What V. S. Naipaul taught me about posturing P. Kishore Saval, American Affairs
- India’s stealth war on liberal democracy Shikha Dalmia, the Week
Nightcap
- The Cause and Mechanisms of American De-Industrialization John Mueller, Law & Liberty
- Against moral crusades Chris Dillow, Stumbling & Mumbling
- A test with Imran Khan Nitin Pai, Pragati Express
- The De-Industrialization of the U.S.: A String of Enlightening Fallacies Jacques Delacroix, NOL
Nightcap
- Don’t say that to me Stephen Cox, Liberty Unbound
- Misconceptions about religiously radicalized women Chelsea Daymon, War on the Rocks
- Ukrainian autocephaly Bruce Clark, Erasmus
- Why liberalism’s critics fail Deirdre McCloskey, Modern Age
Nightcap
- A new history of Islamic Spain Peter Gordon, Asian Review of Books
- A Palestinian perspective on Labour’s anti-Semitism row Nimer Sultany, Disorder of Things
- The crumbling of French culture Guillaume de Thieulloy, Law & Liberty
- Can Asia and Europe make America’s alliances great again? Tongfi Kim, the Diplomat
Nightcap
- Examining the state of German identity Sebastian Hammelehle, Der Spiegel
- Tadao’s war memory manga Ryan Holmberg, NY Review of Books
- The Buddhist monk who became an apostle for sexual freedom Donald Lopez, Aeon
- Denmark’s most innovative city Simon Willis, 1843
RCH: the Peace of Paris (1783)
My latest at RealClearHistory is up. An excerpt:
The Americans did not like this proposal one bit, and they went around the French and their Spanish allies and negotiated a separate treaty with the British, who were all too happy to give up some land in exchange for sticking a thumb in France’s eye. The French foreign minister at the time of the treaty negotiations, Charles Gravier, Count of Vergennes, bitterly complained that “the English buy peace rather than make it.” London also anticipated a rapprochement between itself and its now-former colonies, and a favorable treaty with the rebels would buy the British some much-needed diplomatic capital down the road. The American diplomats who negotiated such a generous truce were led by Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and John Adams.
Please, read the rest.
Nightcap
- ISIS never went away in Iraq Krishnadev Calamur, the Atlantic
- In search of “real” socialism Kristian Niemietz, CapX
- Localism and its trade-offs Jason Sorens, Law & Liberty
- Latin America’s greatest storyteller Thomas Meany, Claremont Review of Books
RCH: 10 rivalries that shaped world history
My weekend column for RealClearHistory, in case you missed it, was fun to write. An excerpt:
4. The Mughals versus the Persians (1600s -1739). The Mughal Empire, an Indian polity that ruled over much of the subcontinent, fought three wars against two Persian dynasties (Safavids and Afsharids) and lost all of them. Much of the fighting was done around the city of Kandahar, in what is now Afghanistan. Kandahar was for a long time an important fortress for empires and dynasties that lorded over both Persia and India. While the Mughals had their pride stung by the losses, they could at least find solace in the fact their realm was the most economically successful on the planet at the time. India and Iran have long been weary regional rivals and sometime allies, but geographic distance and terrain have made outright wars between the two civilizations rare and limited. The rivalry between Iran and India has been a cultural one rather than a military one.
Read the rest (if you haven’t already!).
Nightcap
- Thinking about the Holodomor Flagg Taylor, Law & Liberty
- Neoliberalism is not dead Scott Sumner, EconLog
- Social generativity and complexity Daniel Little, Understanding Society
- We don’t need the UN to regulate baby formula Ryan McMaken, Mises Wire
Nightcap
- Radical republicans and early modern democrats, Dutch style Dirk Alkemade, Age of Revolutions
- Did socialism keep capitalism equal? Branko Milanovic, globalinequality
- John McCain in 1974 Arnold Isaacs, War on the Rocks
- U.S.-Soviet hotline a symbol of Cold War cooperation Rick Brownell, Historiat
