Recently Published

The End of the American Empire in the Middle East

by Tom Engelhardt

As we've watched the dramatic events in the Middle East, you would hardly know that we had a thing to do with them.  Oh yes, in the name of its War on Terror, Washing

Thanks, George: How America Avoided Egypt’s Fate

by Chris Myers Asch

Stepping down is hard to do.Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is the latest example of a ruler who simply cannot let go of power.  As the m

Mothers of the Jasmine Revolution

by Imed Labidi

On January 14, 2011, the ousted former Tunisian dictator Ben Ali fled the country and found his way to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Just two days earlier, French Foreign Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie told her National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Commission that French expertise could help suppress the Tunisian uprising and restore order. Although the French can take much pride in their histo

Popular Uprisings in Egypt’s Recent History

by Robert Tignor

Millions of Egyptians have taken to the streets in the last week, demanding the removal of President Hosni Mubarak from office and an end to dictatorial rule.  These event

Turmoil in Egypt

by Daniel Pipes

As Egypt's much-anticipated moment of crisis arrived and popular rebellions shook governments across the Middle East, Iran stands as never before at the center of the region. Its Islamist rulers are within sight of dominating the region. But revolutions are hard to pull off and I predict that Islamists will not achieve a Middle East-wide breakthrough and Tehran will not emerge as the key powerbroker. Some thoughts behind this conclusion:An echo of the Iranian revolution:

All Eyes on Egypt

by Daniel Martin Varisco

About a month ago I visited the King Tut exhibit in New York. Here was the splendor of one of the minor pharaohs of Egypt, one that died at a very young age. Other pharaohs reigned for a lifetime, such as Ramses II who was in power over three millennia ago and ruled the mighty Egyptian empire for more than half a century. Hosni Mubarak on the Nile is no pharaoh any more than Saddam Hussein was Nebuchadnezzar on the Euphrates. Still, he has been in power almost three decades with a son

Agricultural Instability Threatens Political, Economic Development

by Nick Cullather

It is in the cities that the 2011 food crisis hits hardest.  The revolution in Tunis began as a food riot.  As markets in Cairo, Algiers, and Sanaa erupt, dictators are scrambling to buy off the opposition by lowering

Egypt—What’s Next?

by Haider Khan

Events in Egypt have unsettled the media pundits and Western academic advisers alike.  After all, how can the recipient of the largest amount of U.S. foreign aid in the Arab world and a close U.S. ally be in such dire political trouble from within?As a CNN pundit put it recently,"among Arab nations Egypt enjoys a near-unparalleled relationship with Washington."  But now Washington is worried.Only last Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated confidently th

The Masses 2.0 – Tunisia’s Turmoil in Perspective

by Frank Uekoetter

As the euphoria over the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia is giving way to anxiety about what is to come, it may be worthwhile to pause for a moment and reflect on how recent events look in a broader perspective.  The last two hundred fifty years have bestowed us with an impressive body of experiences with revolts and revolutions all over the world, and the key themes of protests in Tunisia thus ring quite familiar:  democracy, liberty, government corruption.  Daniel Pipes has

The Murdered Jews of Macedonia and Thrace Remain Without a Voice

by Shelomo Alfassa

Annually, it is repeated in the contemporary media how "Bulgaria became the only Nazi-allied country in World War II to protect its entire Jewish population" or that "Bulgaria saved all of its Jews from the death camps."  While ultimately members of the Bulgarian government, the Bulgarian public, and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church did in fact take l

Channelling George Washington: Roosevelt v. Roosevelt

by Thomas Fleming

“I’ve been thinking about a large historical comparison. Do you want to explore it with me?” “I’m game as usual, Mr. President. What is it?”

Pat Nixon: Caught Between the Housewives and the Feminists

by Mary C. Brennan

As the feminist movement grew radicalized in the climate of the late 1960s, many women became increasingly critical of their peers who maintained traditional

The Future of the USS Olympia

by Ashlyn Olson

The USS Olympia is one of the oldest steel ships in the world.  Built during a period where ships built with vertical-stroke reciprocating three-cylinder triple-expansion engines were rare, the Olympia was one of her kind constructed with the front-line alloy steel.  She was Commodore Dewey’s flagship at the Battle of Manila and the only surviving example of Teddy Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet from the 1900s.  She served until World War II, and is now the oldest steel

Wisconsin: A History of Leading the Nation for Better or Worse

by Nancy C. Unger

Wisconsin doesn't often provide political leadership at the national level, but when it does, it's like that old nursery rhyme about the little girl w

The Truth about Private Hitler—Historian Thomas Weber on His New Book "Hitler’s First War"

by Robin Lindley

Perhaps no modern historical figure has been more closely examined than Adolf Hitler.  Most biographers have attributed Hitler’s rabid anti-Semitism and hyper-national

It’s 1968 All Over Again, and King’s Fight For Unions Is Still Essential

by Michael Honey

In light of the clash of wills in Wisconsin, we should remember the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. One of King’s slogans that we rarely hear is this one: “all la

Run Down by Traffic in Both Directions: Is it Possible to Have a Rational Discussion of State U.S. History Standards?

by Sheldon and Jeremy Stern

In late 2009, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute asked us to undertake a review of state standards for U.S. history.  One of us (1) had written the last state standards report for Fordham in 2003; and, since forty-five states have subsequently revised their standards, it seemed appropriate to see what had changed.  Some states had modified their standards a great deal—some for the better, some for the worse.  On balance, the picture remained grim

Frank Buckles: The Last of the Doughboys

by David Laskin

What do historians lose when a generation passes?  This is not an academic question.  Four years ago, a dozen of the 4.7 million Americans who served in the American Expeditionary Forces were still alive, but today

Lessons for Wisconsin From the Flint Sit-Down Strikes of 1936-37

by Mark Naison

With the state legislature in Wisconsin occupied and surrounded by thousands of state workers and their supporters, and with schools closed throughout the state because of teachers calling in sick, I cannot help but think of the greatest strike and building occupation in the history of the American labor movement—the Flint Sit-Down Strikes of 1936-37.  Though the Wisconsin struggle is being led by government workers, and the Flint strikes involved workers involved in automobile producti

Six Vows to Support Our Troops

by William J. Astore

“Support our troops” is an unconditional American mantra.  We’re told to celebrate them as warrior-liberators, as heroes, as the