Category Archives: Political Culture

On Political Favor and Conflicts of Interest

On President-elect Trump’s glaring conflicts of interest…. “During his first administration, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s global business empire created an unprecedented number of conflicts of interest for a sitting president. Ethics experts worried that opportunists could try to curry favor … Continue reading

Posted in Court Studies, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern France, Early Modern World, European History, French History, Noble Culture and History of Elites, Political Culture, Political Theory, Reformation History, Renaissance Art and History, State Development Theory, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On the Army of God and Religious Politics in the U.S.

A new report in The Atlantic focuses on the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) in contemporary Christianity and its growing influence in the political culture of the United States. Stephanie McCrummen writes: “A shift is under way, one that scholars have … Continue reading

Posted in Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, European Wars of Religion, French Wars of Religion, Intellectual History, Political Activism and Protest Culture, Political Culture, Reformation History, Religious Politics, Religious Violence, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

France’s Far-Right Embraces Jean-Marie Le Pen

French far-right political leader Jean-Marie Le Pen died this week. In 1972, Le Pen founded the Front National (National Front) and gradually built it into the preeminent far-right political party in France. Jean-Marie Le Pen was a former military intelligence … Continue reading

Posted in Contemporary France, European History, European Studies, European Union, French History, Museums and Historical Memory, Political Culture | Leave a comment

Death of Front National Founder Jean-Marie Le Pen

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the firebrand far-right French politician and one of the key architects of the modern neo-fascist movement in Europe, has died. The New York Times reports that “Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founding father of France’s modern political far … Continue reading

Posted in Atrocities, Contemporary France, Empires and Imperialism, European History, European Studies, European Union, French Empire, French History, Genocides, History of Violence, Human Rights, Laws of War, Political Culture, War, Culture, and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Documenting the Storming of the U.S. Capitol

The Storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then President Trump is one of the most documented individual episodes of mass violence in history. As President-Elect Trump prepares to re-enter the White House, it is important to revisit the … Continue reading

Posted in Academic Freedom, Historiography and Social Theory, History in the Media, History of Violence, Information Management, Museums and Historical Memory, Political Activism and Protest Culture, Political Culture, Political Theory, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Remembering the Charlie Hebdo Attacks

Remembering the victims of the Charlie Hebdo Attacks on 7 January 2015 in Paris. I was living nearby in the Marais at the time and remember that terrible day and its aftermath vividly. It is hard to believe that 10 … Continue reading

Posted in Contemporary France, European History, European Studies, European Union, French History, History of Violence, Museums and Historical Memory, Political Culture, Terrorism | Leave a comment

Royalty, Territorial Claims, and International Politics

Early modern issues of royal heraldry and territorial claims have reemerged in contemporary international politics. The King of Denmark is changing his coat of arms, provoking surprise among European political analysts and historians. The Guardian reports that “The Danish king … Continue reading

Posted in Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, European History, European Studies, European Union, European Wars of Religion, History of Violence, Medieval History, Monarchies and Royal States, Museums and Historical Memory, Political Culture, Political Theory, Reformation History, Renaissance Art and History, State Development Theory, Strategy and International Politics, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Remembering the Storming of the U.S. Capitol

Today, I am remembering the Storming of the U.S. Capitol on 6 January 2021. The Storming of the U.S. Capitol was an organized paramilitary attack that represented a coup de force (or coup de majesté)—essentially an insurrection from above—carried out … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Conflict, Crowd Studies, Historiography and Social Theory, History of Violence, Political Activism and Protest Culture, Political Culture, Revolts and Revolutions, Terrorism, United States History and Society, War, Culture, and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On Judicial Authority and Insurrection

An investigative report in the New York Times finds that Chief Justice Roberts acted personally to steer the Supreme Court of the United States to find for former President Trump in three major cases related to the Storming of the … Continue reading

Posted in Political Culture, United States History and Society, World History | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Rituals, History, and the Paris 2024 Olympics

The Opening Ceremonies of the Paris 2024 Olympics were certainly impressive and have attracted sustained interest from cultural historians, political historians, sports historians, and literary scholars in French and Francophone studies. Trisha Urmi Banerjee and Nathaniel Zetter (University of Cambridge) … Continue reading

Posted in Cultural History, European History, European Studies, History in the Media, History of Race and Racism, Museums and Historical Memory, Political Culture, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment