Italy

Heil, Hobbit!: Giorgia Meloni and the Politicization of JRR Tolkien

In post-war Italy, the fantasy epics of JRR Tolkien became required reading for the post-fascist right; but does that really mean Hobbits were all Hitlerites?

United Nations Security Council Receives its First Religious Freedom Mandate

The United Nations Security Council may finally be taking international religious liberty seriously

Giorgia Meloni & Secularizing Italy

Hopefully much of Meloni’s rhetoric in this regard is mostly showmanship and she governs pragmatically, not as a crusade of resentment. 

Religious Liberty in Italy after World War II

In the following article from 75 years ago, Howard V. Yergin warned Americans about the emerging Italian constitution that would effectively privilege Catholics and treat religious minorities less favorably.

Populism in France’s Presidential Election - Marine Le Pen
Populism in France’s Presidential Election

What are we to make of France’s presidential election? More than anything, it points to the power of anti-systemic populism in French politics, whether on the Left or Right.

The Civil War Offers Public Diplomacy Lessons: A Review of Doyle’s The Cause of All Nations
The Civil War Offers Public Diplomacy Lessons: A Review of Doyle’s The Cause of All Nations

While most histories of the Civil War naturally focus on the drama in America, Don H. Doyle’s “The Cause of All Nations” explains how the conflict fits into broader world history and how events abroad affected the war.

Durban IV Exhibits Split in European Approach to Israel, Combatting Antisemitism
Durban IV Exhibits Split in European Approach to Israel, Combatting Antisemitism

The choice between attending or abstaining from September’s Durban IV conference in New York City—the twentieth anniversary of the anti-racism conference that quickly became a confluence of antisemitism—is the newest episode in Europe’s increasingly divided policy toward the Jewish state and combatting antisemitism.

State Privilege Won’t Save a Faith

Proponents of religious economy theory point to evidence suggesting that religious adherence decreases when a government actively promotes a church or hinders other beliefs.

COVID-19 and Future World Order
COVID-19 and Future World Order

While it is still too early to ascertain the COVID-19 pandemic’s damage to our country and the world, it is already evident that the crisis will result in structural changes within and among countries.