The Role of Intoxication in Ancient Persian Decision-Making

Number of words: 118 Alfred P.Sloan, the former CEO of General Motors, presents a nice contrast. He was leading a group of high-level policy makers who seemed to have reached a consensus. “Gentleman,” he said, “I take it we are all in complete agreement on the decision here…..Then I propose we postpone further discussion of … Read more

Rethinking Education

Number of words: 52 Seymour Sarason was a professor of mine when I was in graduate school. He was a wonderful educator, and he always told us to question assumption. “There’s an assumption,” he said, “that schools are for students learning. Well, aren’t they just has much for teachers learning.” Excerpted from‘Mindset’ by Carol S. … Read more

The Intricacies of Power Dynamics in Fear Societies

Number of words: 339 Overt cooperation with the west would, however, pose anew danger to the Soviet. How could the communist regime give up the ideological enemy that had served so well since the Bolshevik revolution in 1919 to stabilize its rule? Hero too, the Soviets were confronting a problem faced by all fear societies. … Read more

The Evolution of Democracy in Germany and Italy

Number of words: 263 With a half a century of hindsight, what seems absurd is that anyone ever believed that democracy could not take hold in Germany, Italy, or elsewhere in Europe. Today Germany and Italy are liberal democracies with governments that protect the rights of their citizens and peoples  who live at peace with  … Read more

The Enduring Legacy of Soviet Dissidents

Number of words: 176 But inside the USSR, Amalrik’s book was not dismissed as the ranting of lunatic. The leadership new that Amalrik had exposed the Soviet regime’s soft underbelly. They understood their vulnerability to dissident ideas: even the smallest spark of freedom could set their entire totalitarian, dissident books were confiscated, and every typewriter … Read more

The Dichotomy of Power: Russia vs. Europe

Number of words: 274              Take Russia for example. For hundreds of years, the Russians were believed to be “different” from their European cousins.  When the French political theorist Jean Bodin visited Russia in the 16th century, he observed that the czarist regime’s abosolute power stood in sharp contrast to the more limited rule of … Read more

Faith, Law, and Governance: A Comparative Analysis

Number of words: 199 Atfirst glance, the case against democracy taking hold in the Middle East is a powerful one. It is not without  reason that The Economist, a magazine not known for its anti-Muslim prejudices, asked whether there was something “hard-wired” into Islam that made it “incompatible with democracy.” In democracies, The Economist tells … Read more

The Dynamics of Change in Homogeneous Societies

Number of words: 262 Notwopeople, much less all the members of a community, have the exact same background, tastes, interest, priorities, will invariably lead people to respond to new situations in different ways. No matter how homogenous a society may seem, eventually differences will emerge and grow. The speed with which this process occurs will … Read more

The Philosophy Behind Democratic Restraint in Conflict

Number of words: 268 Democracies, it is often observed, do not go to  war with one another. That scholars have taken to combing the annals of diplomatic history in search of notable exceptions only proves the rule. But though this familliar axiom is often stated as if it needs no further explanation, the logic behind … Read more

The Intersection of Freedom and Economics in the Cold War

Number of words: 129 Years later, close advisers of Gorbachev admitted that the realization that the USSR could never complete with star wars made them finally accept demand for internal reform. A leading Soviet economist, put it this way. Had it not been for the Reagan defense buildup, if the United States had not demonstrated … Read more