Review: “The Armenians” – John M. Douglas

John M. Douglas's "The Armenians" is an outstanding history of the Armenian people, from the Armenian people's ancient Thraco-Phrygian and Urartian origins in the 9th century BC, to the social, economic, and political struggles of the Republic of Armenia in the mid-1990s. What really surprised me reading this book was how involved Armenians have beenContinue reading "Review: “The Armenians” – John M. Douglas"

Review: “Greece, 1941-49: From Resistance to Civil War: The Strategy of the Greek Communist Party” – Haris Vlavianos

Haris Vlavianos’s “Greece, 1941-49: From Resistance to Civil War: The Strategy of the Greek Communist Party” offers what I think is probably the most comprehensive and least biased historical analysis of the KKE during the Nazi occupation of Greece and the Greek Civil War (1943-49). Did the KKE deliberately start the civil war to seizeContinue reading "Review: “Greece, 1941-49: From Resistance to Civil War: The Strategy of the Greek Communist Party” – Haris Vlavianos"

Review: “The Making of Informal States: Statebuilding in Northern Cyprus and Transdniestria” – Daria Isachenko

“The Making of Informal States: Statebuilding in Northern Cyprus and Transdniestria” by Daria Isachenko offers a very unique analysis of the conflict in Northern Cyprus and Transdniestria. Isachenko uses Norbert Elias’ theory of figurational sociology, a research tradition in which figurations of humans — evolving networks of interdependent humans — are the unit of investigation,Continue reading "Review: “The Making of Informal States: Statebuilding in Northern Cyprus and Transdniestria” – Daria Isachenko"

Review: “Discordant Neighbours: A Reassessment of the Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-South Ossetian Conflicts” – B. George Hewitt

George Hewitt’s “Discordant Neighbours: A Reassessment of the Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-South Ossetian Conflicts” is the most authoritative account of the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, especially since the ‘Five-Day War’ in August 2008. In this book Hewitt takes aim at many of the myths propagated by Georgia and its Western allies that Abkhazia andContinue reading "Review: “Discordant Neighbours: A Reassessment of the Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-South Ossetian Conflicts” – B. George Hewitt"

Review: “Understanding Ethnopolitical Conflict: Karabakh, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia Wars Reconsidered” – Emil Souleimanov

Emil Souleimanov's "Understanding Ethnopolitical Conflict: Karabakh, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia Wars Reconsidered" offers an excellent theoretical and methodological analysis of the ethnic conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia. Souleimanov ‘tests’ the efficacy of the major on-set and in-process theories of the origins of ethnic conflicts and civil wars, including the role of elites, naturalContinue reading "Review: “Understanding Ethnopolitical Conflict: Karabakh, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia Wars Reconsidered” – Emil Souleimanov"

Review: “The Origins of Ethnic Conflict in Africa: Politics and Violence in Darfur, Oromia, and the Tana Delta” – Tsega Etefa

Tsega Etefa’s “The Origins of Ethnic Conflict in Africa” offers a comprehensive analysis of the root causes of ethnic conflict in Africa. In the three cases studies examined in the book — the Arab-non-Arab conflict in Darfur, the Oromo-Pokomo conflict in Kenya’s Tana Delta, and the Gumuz-Oromo conflict in Ethiopia’s Oromia state — Etefa convincinglyContinue reading "Review: “The Origins of Ethnic Conflict in Africa: Politics and Violence in Darfur, Oromia, and the Tana Delta” – Tsega Etefa"

Review: “The Politics of Ethnic Separatism in Russia and Georgia” – Julie A. George

Julie George’s “The Politics of Ethnic Separatism in Russia and Georgia” examines the factors that contributed to the decision of ethnic and regional leaders in both countries to pursue violent or non-violent strategies to achieve their political, economic, and personal goals.On the one hand, Georgie examines the factors that contributed to the strategies pursued byContinue reading "Review: “The Politics of Ethnic Separatism in Russia and Georgia” – Julie A. George"

Review: “Nkrumaism and African Nationalism: Ghana’s Pan-African Foreign Policy in the Age of Decolonization” – Matteo Grilli

In “Nkrumaism and African Nationalism: Ghana’s Pan-African Foreign Policy in the Age of Decolonization”, Matteo Grilli brilliantly re-examines the legacy and influence of Kwame Nkrumah in Africa.After Nkrumah was deposed in 1966 in a coup supported by the West, the military regime attempted to discredit Ghana’s foreign policy and Nkrumah’s Pan-African vision as a “failure”.Continue reading "Review: “Nkrumaism and African Nationalism: Ghana’s Pan-African Foreign Policy in the Age of Decolonization” – Matteo Grilli"

James Bezan, the League of Ukrainian Canadians, and the Holocaust in the Ukraine

If you have never heard of James Bezan (lucky you!), let me fill you in. Mr. Bezan is the far-right Conservative Member of Parliament for Selkirk-Interlake, in Manitoba. He is a Ukrainian nationalist, Russophobe and Sinophobe extraordinaire, and like the prehistoric dinosaur that he is, he is opposed to LGBTQ rights and women’s reproductive rights.Continue reading "James Bezan, the League of Ukrainian Canadians, and the Holocaust in the Ukraine"

Review: “The Establishment of National Republics in Soviet Central Asia” – Arne Haugen

“The Establishment of National Republics in Soviet Central Asia” by Arne Haugen is the Das Kapital of Soviet nationalities policies, especially in Central Asia. Haugen, a Norwegian scholar, methodically and scientifically examines Soviet national territorial delimitation in Central Asia. In this book Haugen examines many of the issues raised in Western scholarly works on SovietContinue reading "Review: “The Establishment of National Republics in Soviet Central Asia” – Arne Haugen"

Soviet Nationalities Policy and Territorial Delimitation: “Divide at impera” or something else?

Have you ever looked at a map of Central Asia and the Caucasus? If you answered ‘yes’, then you have more than likely wondered why the borders of many of the now independent states in these regions of the former Soviet Union are so confusing and seemingly irrational. The strategic and fertile Ferghana Valley, forContinue reading "Soviet Nationalities Policy and Territorial Delimitation: “Divide at impera” or something else?"

A Letter to Ralph Eichler, MLA for Lakeside

Dear Ralph Eichler, Congratulations on your re-election as MLA for Lakeside. At approximately 7:30 PM on September 18, 2019, I received a distressing phone call. The call was from my vocational counselor at Interlake Employment Services. (Her office is beside yours in Stonewall.) Due to draconian budget cuts imposed by the Progressive Conservative regime inContinue reading "A Letter to Ralph Eichler, MLA for Lakeside"

The Grenfell Fire: Austerity is Terrorism

On June 14, the 220 ft. tall Grenfell Tower went up in flames in a matter of minutes, as if it were tissue paper, witnesses reported. The world watched in horror as residents desperately tried to flee the fire, with one mother even dropping her baby out of a window. The BBC has reported thatContinue reading "The Grenfell Fire: Austerity is Terrorism"

An Open Letter to David Anderson, MP for Cypress Hills-Grasslands

Dear David Anderson, I am writing to express my disgust with your false and outright disgraceful polemic in the House of Commons recently about the death of Fidel Castro and the revolutionary government of Cuba. I’d like to respond to some of your criticisms of Castro and of the Cuban “communist regime.” Quoting an unnamedContinue reading "An Open Letter to David Anderson, MP for Cypress Hills-Grasslands"

The Hypocri$y of Non-Profit$

Christmas, the season of giving, is rapidly approaching, and workers earning poverty level wages with no benefits or any job security are busy at work processing the annual flood of donations to charitable organizations and non-profits. The good intentions of donors notwithstanding, like using a band-aid to treat cancer, charity is incapable of any fundamentalContinue reading "The Hypocri$y of Non-Profit$"

Peacekeeping: Fiction vs. Reality

(Image: Protest in Haiti against UN sexual crimes against women. Source) The word peacekeeping is like the word terrorism: it is meaningless on its own and able to be molded to serve the interests of a political clique. Like Alex P. Schmidt's description of terrorism in The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research, peacekeeping "is usuallyContinue reading "Peacekeeping: Fiction vs. Reality"

The Permanent War Economy and De-industrialization

(Image: Detroit, Michigan, the former centre of America's auto industry. Source) Politicians of all political stripes like to dress inflated military budgets, and the wicked arms deals that frequently accompany them, in terms of “job creation.” Former U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, arguing against any reduction in military funding, claimed that any decrease “would resultContinue reading "The Permanent War Economy and De-industrialization"