Essays

Uncategorized

Vesna Kesic

In memoriam

December 31, 2020 • by
Photo: taken by Stephanie Damoff (provided by Elzbieta Matynia). Elzbieta Matynia is a Professor of Sociology at The New School for Social Research and Director of the Transregional Center for Democratic Studies.
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Vesna Kesic
Democracy

The Seamy Side of the Politics of Small Things

Turkey Poland, China, the United States and beyond

December 22, 2020 • by
I recognized that the reviewer had a point and decided to answer the question by adding a chapter: “2004: The Church, the Right and the Politics of Small Things.” In it, I showed how micro-politics, politics in the details of social interaction, in churches with links to the Republican Party, ...
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The Seamy Side of the Politics of Small Things
Uncategorized

The Adultification of Santa Claus

He’s not just for children anymore — and never has been

December 17, 2020 • by
During the pandemic lock-down I needed something to lift my spirits and went to my go-to place of childhood happiness — Santa Claus. As a mom and child rights policy chair with an international group of human rights scholars, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out what ...
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The Adultification of Santa Claus
Literature

Creatures of Habit

From Our First Zombie President to Ling Ma’s Severance

December 17, 2020 • by
The main problem with zombies is that they lack self-awareness. The opening words of Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morals— “We are unknown to ourselves”—could serve as a zombie manifesto. Driven by little more than the impulse to consume, zombies shamble along from meal to meal without ever pausing to ...
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Creatures of Habit
Higher Ed

What is Expertise Worth?

Wikipedia, credentials, and the democratization of knowledge

December 17, 2020 • by and
A recent email solicitation from a freelance writer made the rounds among faculty at the University of Virginia. “You are not on Wikipedia!” the author exclaims with apparent amazement, despite the fact that “academics who have accomplished much less have Wikipedia pages.” Anyone who knows Wikipedia also knows that you ...
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What is Expertise Worth?
Capitalism

Giving Back to the University

The scandal of “Employee-Giving” campaigns at American universities

December 17, 2020 • by
For many, this time of year brings a deluge of fundraising emails, letters, calls, text messages, and social media posts from non-profits asking for donations. Despite the disruptions that the pandemic has posed this year to colleges and universities, they have continued to fundraise. Many of them are using sophisticated, ...
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Giving Back to the University
Democracy

Oppression, Resistance and High-Tech Totalitarianism

December 16, 2020 • by
But most censorship does not directly involve such happenings. It involves fear of such happenings. Perry Link had a classic metaphor - He described the CCP's censorship system as an “Anaconda in the Chandelier”. The silence of the anaconda crouching overhead means “the big brother is watching you!” So everyone will automatically ...
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Oppression, Resistance and High-Tech Totalitarianism
North America

Is Trump Right Not to Surrender?

How the Commander in Chief’s refusal to face defeat squares with the U.S. military’s Code of Conduct

December 16, 2020 • by
It’s become another endless loop of the Trump administration: the constant refrain that the President won the election, the recurrent assertion that massive fraud occurred on November 3. Sources within the White House have compared the President’s refusal to concede to the ramblings of Mad King George. Ironically, Trump’s refusal to ...
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Is Trump Right Not to Surrender?
Columnists

Yes, Biden Should Call Out Trump’s Lawlessness

We can’t ignore it. We must face it head-on

December 15, 2020 • by
Joe Biden is full of surprises. After the Electoral College met Monday to finalize the results of the election, the President-Elect delivered a speech I never thought he’d deliver. He did not say you’re with us or against us, but that’s what he righteously implied. And by implication, Biden gave a ...
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Yes, Biden Should Call Out Trump’s Lawlessness
Democracy

Disqualifying Instability

On the selective application of rule of law principles

December 15, 2020 • by
It’s not that difficult Particularly politicians from Hungary and Poland oppose the conditionality mechanism, arguing that the concept of the rule of law is too vague and has no basis in the treaties. However, it is not true that this mechanism has no treaty basis. It has a basis in Article 322 of the ...
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Disqualifying Instability
Activism

Worse Than Betsy DeVos? Outside Money Swamps 2020 School Board Elections

A national campaign to privatize public schools continues regardless of who is president

December 15, 2020 • by
When a Biden victory in the 2020 presidential election became certain, supporters of public education gleefully took to social media to say good riddance to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. DeVos came into office with an agenda to further the privatization of public education by expanding charter schools and ...
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Worse Than Betsy DeVos? Outside Money Swamps 2020 School Board Elections

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