Terroir Terror: The 1911 Champagne Riots
An environmental crisis and a dispute over regional boundaries sent both rioters and rivers of champagne pouring into the streets of Aube.
Democratic Backsliding
Political scientist Javier Corrales uses Venezuela as a case-study of democratic backsliding that’s been initiated by the winner of an election, not the loser.
Grappling with Equatorial Guinea
A brief history of Africa’s most brutal dictator and what his legacy means for Equatorial Guinea today.
The Legends of Charles G. Leland’s Aradia
Leland’s interest in magic and folklore led him to northern Italy in search of remnants of “the old religion” of witchcraft.
Portrait of a Nazi Bigamist
Otto M was a university researcher who was both an enthusiastic Nazi and a bigamist, openly married to two women.
When Does Political Resistance Work?
The effectiveness of popular movements for social change depends on both underlying political conditions and the strategies adopted by activists.
Iran: Creativity in the Aftermath of Uprising
Pamela Karimi’s new book examines how Iran’s “Women, Art, Freedom” protest movement has influenced the country’s artists and their work.
Recruiting Warrior Queens for the Rani of Jhansi Regiment
Why did so many plantation workers in Burma, Malaya, and Singapore rush to join the all-woman Rani of Jhansi regiment of the Indian National Army?
How to be a Modern Autocrat
In the twenty-first century, dictators are less likely than their predecessors to use violence to suppress dissent, cultivating instead “informational autocracies.”
Hocktide: A Medieval Fest of Flirtation and Finances
The springtime holiday of Hocktide not only allowed villagers to cross social boundaries in the name of fun, it helped them raise funds for nonsecular needs.