History

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 15 October 2004 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 It is republished here as a historical document and reflects the author’s ideas at the time of writing. I read a short note on Wikipedia about the region of ‘Asir in Saudi Arabia, which included the following passage: Saudi Arabia annexed ‘Asir, Najran and Jizan from Yemen in 1934, but the culture of the region has more in common with that of Yemen than with the rest of Saudi Arabia. This is most visible in clothing and architecture, which have been adapted to the sometimes heavy rainfall. Moreover, ‘Asir has been much less influenced by the oil boom than the rest of Saudi Arabia, and the modern urban development of cities like Riyadh is entirely absent here. Tribal laws and customs are still exceptionally strong among the population of this region. ...