Mark R. Royce

Mark R. Royce, Ph.D., is Associate Professor and Department Chair of Political Science at Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale, and author of The Political Theology of European Integration: Comparing the Influence of Religious Histories on European Policies (2017), and Ecclesiology, Idealism, and World Polity: The Concordats of the Apostolic See ([under contract] 2024), both from Palgrave Macmillan. He also attained the rank of First Lieutenant in the Virginia State Guard, and may be reached at [email protected].

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Between Two Cold Wars: Soviet Russia, Red China, and the Necessity for American Discernment
Between Two Cold Wars: Soviet Russia, Red China, and the Necessity for American Discernment

Soviet Russia demonstrated enormously greater fighting ability than has Red China, and yet even that temporarily invincible totalitarian regime is no more.

“We Have Obligations to Our Allies”: Operation Allies Welcome and International Law
“We Have Obligations to Our Allies”: Operation Allies Welcome and International Law

In response to the astonishing fall of Kabul and sudden capitulation of the Afghan government, President Joe Biden ordered Operation Allies Welcome. But did it follow international law?

Sonnet from the Portuguese: A Review of Glenn Greenwald’s Securing Democracy
A Saga of Brazilian Corruption: Review of Glenn Greenwald’s Securing Democracy

Glenn Greenwald’s “Securing Democracy: My Fight for Press Freedom and Justice in Bolsonaro’s Brazil” explores his astonishing personal and professional confrontation with the rulers of his adopted home.

Seventy-five Years of The Best Years of Our Lives: A Retrospective on War and Peace
Seventy-five Years of The Best Years of Our Lives: A Retrospective on War and Peace

Seventy-five years ago, the Samuel Goldwyn masterpiece “The Best Years of Our Lives” premiered to universal critical and popular acclaim. Reviewing the film now, two overarching contrasts between past and present are clear.

Edge of Darkness: A Review of Jacob Angeli One Mind at a Time: A Deep State of Illusion - QAnon
Edge of Darkness: A Review of Jacob Angeli’s One Mind at a Time: A Deep State of Illusion

This review essay shall concern, in all seriousness, One Mind at a Time: A Deep State of Illusion (2020), the political testament of Jacob Anthony Chansley, nom de plume Angeli, the “QAnon Shaman,” who successfully defiled the United States Senate floor with his horns, spear, and vociferous war cries.

A Violation of International Law? An Analysis of the UN Report on the Drone Killing of Gen. Soleimani
A Violation of International Law? An Analysis of the UN Report on the Drone Killing of Gen. Soleimani

The Human Rights Council of the United Nations released “Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions,” by Special Rapporteur Prof. Dr. Agnès S. Callamard, which holds that the successful drone strike in January killing Gen. Soleimani violated international law.

The Political Theology of Space Exploration: Between Anarchy, State, and Utopia
The Political Theology of Space Exploration: Between Anarchy, State, and Utopia

Apologists of outer space exploration tout their collective efforts as the supreme manifestation of human rationality: peaceful, non-partisan, inoffensive, and humanistic. But the historical reality is that its institutional origins are largely irrational.

Keys to the Kingdom, Light to the World: A Review of Barbato, Joustra, and Hoover’s Modern Papal Diplomacy and Social Teaching in World Affairs

The overall intent of Modern Papal Diplomacy and Social Teaching in World Affairs is to continue the rediscovery of theology’s influence on politics with respect to the recent papacy.

Heroic Materialism: A Review of Joshua Hawley’s Theodore Roosevelt: Preacher of Righteousness
Heroic Materialism: Review of Joshua Hawley’s Theodore Roosevelt: Preacher of Righteousness

Senator Hawley’s Theodore Roosevelt: Preacher of Righteousness is an interesting, though not altogether convincing portrayal of the 26th president as a lifelong crusader for moral action.

“When Peter Met Mao”: Inferring the Contents of the Concordat between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China
“When Peter Met Mao”: Inferring the Contents of the Concordat between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China

The text and therefore the terms of the “Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and China” have not been made public. But its probable contents can be surmised.

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