Poland is actively seeking to militarise their country, fully
embracing the role as a NATO front-line state. The right-wing PiS government
has requested America troops and armaments and you can be sure they'll get them.
They have a lot of support from the American Right and growing support from the
Christian Right as not a few intellectuals see their Christian Democracy as
something to be admired.
27 June 2020
Geopolitical Chess: The Libyan Civil War and the Mediterranean Powder Keg
France has long been the voice of opposition to the inclusion
of Turkey within the European community. Under Erdogan, the Ankara government
has effectively given up the proposition of EU membership and the relationship
with France has only continued to grow worse.
25 June 2020
Great Power Pawns and the Media Gamepiece
In 2013 I mused whether Putin might be willing to trade
Edward Snowden for Victor Bout, the Russian arms dealer arrested in 2008. At
this point Bout has done hard time and even a loyalist might be tempted to 'flip'
as he still faces another fourteen years in prison.
23 June 2020
Kosovo, Serbia and the Balkan Game in the Age of Trump
Kosovo sometimes referred to as the Fifty-First state of the
United States was from the beginning an American creation. It was part of
Washington's project to consolidate the power of NATO in the aftermath of the
Cold War.
22 June 2020
How Should We Then Live Part 9: The Age of Personal Peace and Affluence (II)
Switching gears somewhat Schaeffer turns to the question of
'arbitrary law' and the relativism born of it.
How Should We Then Live Part 9: The Age of Personal Peace and Affluence (I)
As with previous episodes not every observation Schaeffer
makes is incorrect and at certain points his insight is appreciated – all the
more when considers the narratives at work some forty years later in our own
day. By comparison at times he can seem (relatively speaking) refreshing.
21 June 2020
Trump Administration Threatens ICC
On the one hand the US championed the creation of the
International Criminal Court (ICC) which was finally activated in 2002 but Washington
never had any intention of joining it or being accountable to it. This would
violate the American claim to Exceptionalism and the reality that it places
itself above the other nations of the world.
And so in this capacity the ICC could function as a tool, yet
another instrument in the Atlanticist arsenal – used to bolster the largely
phoney but often convenient narrative of democratisation and liberalism.
18 June 2020
Polish Militarism on the Rise
Was it a mistake or was it a case of flirting with
irrendentism? Silesia, the industrial heartland mostly associated with Poland
has faced its share of historical traumas. Wrested from the Habsburgs by
Prussian ruler Frederick the Great in the 18th century, the region
was contested up through the world wars and saw the death marches flowing out
of nearby Auschwitz in 1945.
Most of the region was restored to Poland after 1945 but
there remained a small section within Czechoslovakia or today's Czech Republic.
16 June 2020
Rome and Croatia: The Ustaše Legacy
Much of Croatia and in particular the Roman Catholic Church
of the region has failed to reckon with its fascist past.
14 June 2020
Evangelicals in Uzbekistan: Hope and a Warning
Things are looking up for Christians in Uzbekistan. After the
Cold War and the break-up of the USSR, the United States attempted to move into
Central Asia, pursuing influence and control of the critical region and its
resources.
13 June 2020
Evangelicals in El Salvador and Right-Wing Politics
A watershed moment to be sure. Evangelical populations in
Latin America have exploded in recent decades even as membership in the Roman
Catholic Church has declined. The Pentecostal Movement played no small role in
this transformation as it is the main driver of the Evangelical Movement and
also has played a significant role in modifying the region's Catholicism.
08 June 2020
Orban's Flirtations with Hungarian Dictatorship
Everyone has an angle on Covid-19. For some it provides
opportunities to push the envelope of power and Hungary's Viktor Orban has done
just that. In light of Orban's attempt to seize emergency powers, cries of
dictatorship prevailed and the EU started to take further action against the
wayward government in Budapest.
06 June 2020
Christian Spin Doctors
It's a Chinese Communist virus but it's fake. The police are
heroes and Christians support a heavy regime of law and order but when there's
public outcry – it's the Leftists.
This kind of spin and obfuscation is common enough in
Right-wing circles but when it's promoted by professing Christians it's
especially offensive.
05 June 2020
Pandemic Fallout and the State of the Church
In some places there's no doubt the quarantine is being used
to suppress Christians – in many cases these same Christians were already
facing social resistance.
Would Evangelical leaders in the USA support this kind of
suppression at the hands of the state if it were American Christians gathered
to pray in violation of Covid-19 guidelines?
If it meant losing or keeping their tax exempt status and all
their perks – I daresay they would.
04 June 2020
The Incessant Politicking of Saakashvili
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has at the very least
thrown a bone to the militarists in Washington by keeping former Georgian president
Mikheil Saakashvili in play. Charged with hiding evidence in connection with a
murder, Saakashvili is wanted by the government in Tbilisi and cannot return
home.
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