Geopolitics

The Past as a Weapon On nostalgia as state strategy and why it works 1. Two images, one mechanism On 27 January 2024, satirical Dutch outlet De Speld published a piece about a Dutch tradwife who longed so intensely for the past that she accidentally ended up in 1917 — and no longer has the right to vote. “Well, that’s a bit annoying,” she says to her 5,000 TikTok followers, washing dishes in full make-up. Spanish flu, World War One, and no say in anything. She is considering joining the Association for Women’s Suffrage. ...

This article was originally written on 30 March 2014 and published on blog.luxzenburg.org — twelve years before the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and eight years before Finland’s accession to NATO. It is republished here as a historical document and reflects the author’s ideas at the time of writing. An article in the Times of India gives pause for thought. According to a former Russian Minister of Economic Affairs, Putin does not only want Crimea back. Belarus, more parts of Ukraine, and even EU member state Finland he reportedly wants to ‘reclaim’ — to restore the old Russian Empire. ...

This article was originally written on 1 December 2012 and published on blog.luxzenburg.org. It is republished here as a historical document and reflects the author’s ideas at the time of writing. Nu.nl headlines: First flight of new European combat aircraft. The French Dassault has invested around 400 million euros in the aircraft — a remarkably low amount for a more advanced aircraft than the JSF. Far better value for money than what the Americans have delivered in developing comparable aircraft. ...

This article was originally written on 5 March 2012 and published on blog.luxzenburg.org. It is republished here as a historical document and reflects the author’s ideas at the time of writing. A well-written article about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, by an American scholar on Al Jazeera. He argues why the debate over whether a Palestinian nation exists is nonsense. The Palestinian nation is just as invented as the Israeli nation. Judging by the scholar’s name, he appears to have a Jewish background. If so, his contribution to the dialogue is all the more valuable: people who bridge the ‘camps’ — that is ultimately where peace must come from. ...

This article was originally written around 2008 and published on Google Knol. It is republished here as a historical document and reflects the author’s ideas at the time of writing. This is part of the Project Policrateia series. Introduction The Celtic Confederation is a proposal for a cultural confederation for the Celtic Nations in Europe. Besides the cultural aspects, economic cooperation and international lobbying — mostly at the European Union — can also become part of the confederation’s tasks. Another aspect worth considering is the development of education and science policy. ...

This article was originally written on 8 October 2009 and published on blog.luxzenburg.org. It is republished here as a historical document and reflects the author’s ideas at the time of writing. OpenDemocracy, an open-source knowledge network and think tank on international politics, publishes a compelling essay on borders by Parag Khanna. He gives a tour d’horizon of geopolitics, seen through the lens of infrastructural connections. A fascinating picture, with many maps. It raises a question for me: what do we make of this, and what does it mean for us? Can we create a world in which we are united by lines on maps — infrastructure, trade, connection — rather than divided by other lines: borders? ...

This article was originally written on 14 July 2007 and published on blog.luxzenburg.org. It is republished here as a historical document and reflects the author’s ideas at the time of writing. Large parts of the United Kingdom are under water following heavy rainfall. The image reminds me of the Netherlands in 1995, when large parts of Limburg in particular were flooded. Unlike the UK, the Netherlands has since implemented a delta plan for its inland waterways, designed to protect the Dutch interior from flooding for the coming centuries. ...

This article was originally written on 14 June 2007 and published on blog.luxzenburg.org. It is republished here as a historical document and reflects the author’s ideas at the time of writing. A debate is currently raging about the secular republic of Turkey. A new president is being chosen by parliament, in which the religious AK Party holds an absolute majority. In the first round, Gül, the AK Party’s candidate, won. But the constitutional court has declared the elections invalid. The military has already stated it will defend the secular republic by all available means — and last weekend hundreds of thousands of Turks protested against the election of a ‘religious’ president. His wife even wears a headscarf. ...

This article was originally written on 15 May 2005 and published on blog.luxzenburg.org. It is republished here as a historical document and reflects the author’s ideas at the time of writing. The French non has exposed several problems within the European Union. First, the democratic deficit. Politicians emphasise that citizens can vote for their national and European representatives, but for most people the Union has remained an invisible entity, even as its powers have risen to unprecedented heights. ...

This article was originally written on 15 May 2005 and published on blog.luxzenburg.org. It is republished here as a historical document and reflects the author’s ideas at the time of writing. The New York Times is publishing articles from the Council on Foreign Relations about the military threat posed by China. One article describes how China has significantly expanded its military expenditure and capabilities over the past fifteen years — from a basic army to an advanced fighting force that can match the US in defensive power, though its capacity to operate outside China remains limited for now. ...