Category Archives: Political Theory

Proposed Gaza Removal Plan: a Crime Against Humanity

Posted on February 5, 2025 by briansandberg

President Trump’s outrageous suggestion that the United States annex Gaza and remove the Palestinian people from the territory would be blatantly illegal, constituting a crime against humanity. President Trump yesterday proposed seizing Gaza, leveling its remaining buildings, clearing debris, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Atrocities, Civil Conflict, Civilians and Refugees in War, Current Research, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, Genocides, History of Race and Racism, History of Violence, Human Rights, Legal history, Political Culture, Political Theory, Religious Politics, Religious Violence, United States History and Society, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Would-be King Trump

Posted on January 22, 2025 by briansandberg

President Trump’s inauguration ceremonies in Washington, D.C., have been filled with royal rhetoric and regal symbolism, promoting the new President as a would-be king. The New York Times reports that “At a late-night inaugural ball on Monday, President Trump, flush … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Studies, Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern France, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, French History, History of the Western World, Monarchies and Royal States, Noble Culture and History of Elites, Political Culture, Political Theory, Renaissance Art and History, State Development Theory, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On Political Favor and Conflicts of Interest

Posted on January 17, 2025 by briansandberg

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

Documenting the Storming of the U.S. Capitol

Posted on January 7, 2025 by briansandberg

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

Royalty, Territorial Claims, and International Politics

Posted on January 6, 2025 by briansandberg

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

Michael Walzer Assesses Pager Attacks in Lebanon

Posted on September 22, 2024 by briansandberg

Michael Walzer, a noted scholar of just war theory and the conduct of war, has condemned the pager attacks in Lebanon as probable war crimes. His essay appears as an op-ed in the New York Times. “The exploding pagers and … Continue reading →

Posted in Arms Control, Atrocities, Civilians and Refugees in War, History of Violence, Human Rights, Laws of War, Political Theory, Security Studies, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pager Attacks in Lebanon and the Laws of War

Posted on September 20, 2024 by briansandberg

Massive and coordinated communication device attacks on Hezbollah members and civilians in Lebanon this week have killed at least 36 people and injured over 3,000. The attacks were carried out by detonating explosives hidden in pagers and hand-held radios in … Continue reading →

Posted in Arms Control, Atrocities, Civilians and Refugees in War, Gender and Warfare, History of Violence, Human Rights, Laws of War, Political Theory, Religious Violence, Security Studies, Strategy and International Politics, Terrorism, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pledging Allegiance to a Monarch

Posted on April 30, 2023 by briansandberg

Monarchies are alive and well in the twenty-first century. And, the notion that “constitutional monarchies” have tamed the power of rulers is perhaps misplaced…. The plans for King Charles III’s upcoming coronation ceremonies reveal new assertions of power and authority … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Studies, Empires and Imperialism, European History, European Studies, History of the Western World, Monarchies and Royal States, Noble Culture and History of Elites, Political Culture, Political Theory, Republicanism, Strategy and International Politics, World History | Leave a comment

French Presidential Elections 2022

Posted on March 15, 2022 by briansandberg

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has already had an enormous impact on European politics and society. Poland and other Eastern European nations are rightly nervous and have bolstered their defenses, supported by NATO. Germany has radically increased its defense spending … Continue reading →

Posted in European History, European Studies, European Union, French History, Political Culture, Political Theory, Security Studies, Strategy and International Politics, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

The Ukrainian Crisis and the History of War

Posted on February 22, 2022 by briansandberg

The current Ukrainian Crisis is being analyzed by security studies and international relations analysts primarily through the lens of recent Russian History and Eastern European Studies (using area studies approaches). War and Society Studies may offer some different perspectives on … Continue reading →

Posted in Arms Control, Civil Conflict, Empires and Imperialism, European History, European Studies, European Union, History in the Media, History of Violence, Peacemaking Processes, Political Culture, Political Theory, Security Studies, Strategy and International Politics, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment