Links to Recent Articles of Interest
By Lawrence Wittner, History News Network, posted May 18
Gives historical and current examples from France, Britain, the US, China, and other nations as well as Russia. concludes, “[L]et is hope let us consider how dreams of imperial grandeur might be discarded and how a strengthened United Nations might be used to fashion a more secure and cooperative world. The author is a professor of history emeritus at SUNY Albany.
By Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, posted May 15
Interview with University of Chicago historian Kathleen Belew on the context of the Buffalo shootings, parallel to other massacres that have been influenced by the “great displacement” theory. Kathleen Belew is the author of Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America (Harvard U. Press, 2018).
By Daniel Immerwahr, The Guardian, posted May 12
A look back at the many decades when memories and images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki underlined the horror of nuclear weapons. Now, in contrast, “We’re entering an age with nuclear weapons but no nuclear memory. Without fanfare, without even noticing, we may have lost a guardrail keeping us from catastrophe.” The author teaches history at Northwestern University.
By Bill Fletcher, Jr., Bill Gallegos, and Jamala Rogers, New Politics, posted May 11
Addresses controversies within the U.S. left about the invasion, with some historical background on left responses to earlier foreign conflicts. The authors are longtime activists in Black Liberation and Chicano Liberation movements.
By Rebecca L. Davis, Los Angeles Times, posted May 10
Points to the history of the Comstock laws of the late nineteenth century, and the long struggle to overcome them, as a precedent for present-day challenges. The author teaches history at the University of Delaware and is writing a history of sexuality in the US.
By Trita Parsi, MSNBC, posted May 6
Warns against a repeat of the US experience in Afghanistan, where the original narrowly defined goals became far broader, with disastrous results. In Ukraine,”Objectives that a few weeks ago would have been flat-out rejected are now slowly accepted…. It’s a slippery slope, with a direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia at the bottom.” The author is a co-founder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
By Thomas Meaney, The Guardian, posted May 5
An extensive review of NATO's history and its place in European and American politics. “Nato may be back. But it may be back only to hoist the old banner: 'There is no alternative.'” The author is an American journalist who has written for a number of US and European journals.
By Jill Lepore, Reader Supported News [from The New Yorker], posted May 5
A historian's critique of the draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. “Women are indeed missing from the Constitution. That’s a problem to remedy, not a precedent to honor.” The author teaches history at Harvard University.
By Anatol Lieven, Responsible Statecraft, posted May 3
Analyzes decisions made by Putin before and during the current war. “The difference between miscalculation and lunacy is an extremely important distinction to draw.” The author is a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and has written several books on Russia and its neighbors.
By Fintan O'Toole, New York Review of Books, posted April 28
“The US’s history of moral evasiveness around wartime atrocities undermines the very institution that might eventually bring Putin and his subordinates to justice: the International Criminal Court.” The author is a columnist for the Irish Times.
By Timothy Snyder, The New Yorker, posted April 28
This article is mainly a survey, going back to the Middle Ages, of the area and people that are now the nation of Ukraine. The author teaches history at Yale University, specializing in the history of Central and Eastern Europe and the Holocaust.
By Andrew Bacevich, The Nation, posted April 28
Warns against the foreign policy establishment's revived faith in US global leadership. “Any person with a modicum of decency will hope and pray that Ukraine prevails in this hideous conflict. Yet while Americans should welcome the prospect of Ukrainian victory, the consequences for US policy are unlikely to be cause for celebration.” The author is a professor emeritus of history and international relations at Boston University.
By Daniel Herman, History News Network, posted April 24
An extensive, detailed exposition of the viewpoint that US actions in recent years constituted a threat to Russian security and led to an understandable though not justifiable invasion of Ukraine. The article also critiques US media coverage of the war. The author teaches US history at Central Washington University.
Thanks to Rusti Eisenberg and an anonymous reader for suggesting articles included in the above list. Suggestions can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.