Nuclear France’s Empire of the Bomb
The first French nuclear bomb test took place in the Sahara in 1960 in the midst of the Algerian War, but French history doesn’t connect the two events.
Autocratic Capitalism: An Introduction
Americans are taught that capitalism and democracy go together like motherhood and apple pie. It may be time to unlearn that lesson.
When the Bishop Married the Abbess
When a new bishop was installed in the see of medieval Florence, he was also expected to marry—at least symbolically—the abbess of San Pier Maggiore.
A Primer on Settler Colonialism
What is this “settler colonialism” that’s become all the rage? Let’s take a closer look.
Modern Nomads in the Atlas Mountains
For pastoralists who live and work in the mountains of Morocco, the lifestyle is difficult but worthwhile. It’s also threatened by economic and climate change.
The Trouble with Reentry
Reentry of space junk in the 1970s forced First Nations communities into a reckoning with Cold War geopolitics and a burgeoning envirotechnical disaster.
How to Govern Like a Mongol
The leaders of the Mongol empire never abandoned their nomadic lifestyles, but they created organizational structures capable of ruling a huge part of the world.
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.