News Abroad

A Historian of Photographic Defacement in the USSR Faces His Own Erasure

by Olga Shevchenko

Like the human rights group Memorial, photographic historian Denis Skopin has run afoul of the Russian state for his efforts to preserve knowledge of Soviet abuses of human rights and historical memory.

Can Canada Contain Conflagration?

by Steve Pyne

Fire is a part of the long natural history of Canada, but this month's wildfires show the insufficiency of the nation's plans to live with fire at the opening of a Pyrocene era. 

A Trip Through the Mind of Vlad the Conqueror: A Satire Blending Imaginary Thoughts with Historical Facts

by Lawrence S. Wittner

"Today I am Vlad the Conqueror!  Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!”

The Mexican War Suggests Ukraine May End Up Conceding Crimea. World War I Suggests the Price May Be Tragic if it Doesn't

by Alan J. Singer

Ukrainian leadership would likely compare the abandonment of its claim to Crimea to be an injustice on par with Mexico's surrender of California and the southwest to the United States. Is it the least bad alternative? 

Stronger Global Governance is the Only Way to a World Free of Nuclear Weapons

by Lawrence Wittner

The war in Ukraine and escalating tensions between the PRC and Taiwan are just two examples of the resurgent danger of nuclear war. A revived movement for true international governance is needed to ensure that the unthinkable becomes impossible. 

“Of the East India Breed …”: The First South Asians in British North America

by Brinda Charry

The known records of the first south Asian people in Virginia are not voluminous, but they direct our attention to the complexities of racial identity in early America and the global networks of trade and labor that would make the British Empire. 

The Path from Isolated Nationalism to Global Citizenship is Hard but Necessary

by Lawrence Wittner

International organizations and social movements have pointed the way to a future in which national boundaries do not interfere with the ability of humanity to survive and solve global problems like climate, hunger, and the threat of annihilatory war. 

A Small Village's History During the Third Reich Raises Big Questions about Complicity

by Julia Boyd

A new history of the personal experiences of the residents of a small Bavarian village show that, while Nazism was driven by ideologues, it was able to maintain power because the personal risks of nonsupport convinced many to put their moral objections aside.

This Year Marks the 50th Anniversary of a Dark Episode in the History of Sports Stadiums

by Matthew Kastel

As Americans return to stadiums with hope and joy at baseball's Opening Day, it's worth remembering that stadiums have been the sites of absurd moments of political theater and dire human rights abuses. 

Staging History to Make History: Theater and the Road to the Good Friday Agreement

by Marilynn Richtarik

Brian Friel's play "Making History" wasn't faithful to the facts of the life of Hugh O'Neill, a 16th century chieftain who had symbolized Irish resistance to colonization. But, as an influential artist, Friel purposefully substituted myths of cultural hybridity for myths of nationalism to make the negotiation of peace palatable to his friends in politics.

Israel and Palestine Have a Way Forward. Will They Choose It?

by Alon Ben-Meir

It is time for Israel and the Palestinians to face the bittersweet truth and accept certain realities on the ground that neither side can change short of a calamity. These inescapable realities will frame the contours of a peace agreement in the context of an Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian confederation.  

An American Witness to the European Movement Against the Iraq Invasion

by Brian Sandberg

The European Social Forum, held in Florence in November 2002, didn't stop the US invasion of Iraq. But it did usher in an era of pan-european civic action that remains powerful today. 

Censoring History Education Goes Hand in Hand with Democratic Backsliding

by Julia Boechat Machado and Ruben Zeeman

Regimes in the Philippines, India and Brazil have recently tried to censor the teaching of history in service of their poltical goals and claims to power. The pushback by scholars in these countries should inspire historians in Florida and elsewhere to resist the political censorship of research and teaching. 

Irish Legend Should Inspire the Fight Against Famine Today

by William Lambers

The Irish show Riverdance has incorporated elements of legend derived from the Irish experience of famine, and raised funds to help victims of hunger around the world, an example to follow at St. Patrick's Day. 

Don't Forget the Private Sorrows of Ukraine

by Walter G. Moss

In Ukraine, as with all wars, statistical accounts of death and destruction risk depersonalizing the killing and obscuring the humanity of the victims. 

Youth Failed by Their Leaders: How the Palestinians Lost Their Way

by Alon Ben-Meir

Four generations of Palestinian leadership have failed their youth through intransigence and a failure to distinguish between Israel and the occupation. 

Whose "Red Lines"?

by Lawrence Wittner

Far from promoting clarity and stability, when powerful nations declare "red lines" in their dealings with the world they declare their intentions to impose their will on others. Peace-promoting red lines must be drawn by more robust international cooperation. 

Suppression of Public Commemoration is an Early Warning of Authoritarian Abuse of History

by Ruben Zeeman

While several laws pertaining to historical memory have been passed under nationalist regimes in Europe, other authoritarian societies actively use other laws as an excuse to suppress inconvenient historic commemorations, reflecting a broad and growing pattern of subordinating history to power.

1918's Armistice Offers an Unsettling Model for Ending the Ukraine Conflict

by James Thornton Harris

Marshal Foch of France described the Treaty of Versailles as a "an armistice for 20 years." In Ukraine, the end of the shooting war will be only the first step in securing peace. 

How Israel Lost its Way

by Alon Ben-Meir

After Israel has raised several generations as warriors and occupiers, has the nation lost sight of the toll on its own youth and the consequences for peace?