Current History
@currenthistory1.bsky.social
International affairs journal, founded in 1914. Published by University of California Press. https://online.ucpress.edu/currenthistory
Reposted by Current History
My latest in the Dec issue of @currenthistory1.bsky.social:
When Health Is the Target: Violence, Restriction, and Neglect in Palestine
Read here: online.ucpress.edu/currenthisto...
When Health Is the Target: Violence, Restriction, and Neglect in Palestine
Read here: online.ucpress.edu/currenthisto...
November 25, 2025 at 6:26 PM
My latest in the Dec issue of @currenthistory1.bsky.social:
When Health Is the Target: Violence, Restriction, and Neglect in Palestine
Read here: online.ucpress.edu/currenthisto...
When Health Is the Target: Violence, Restriction, and Neglect in Palestine
Read here: online.ucpress.edu/currenthisto...
Our annual Middle East issue is out! Featuring Omar S. Dahi on the fall of Syria’s dynasty, Leila Tayeb (@nuqatar.bsky.social) on mobility in militarized Libya, Mehmet Gurses on the transformed Kurdish conflict, Eleanor Gao on Jordan’s tenuous social bargain…
Volume 124 Issue 866 | Current History | University of California Press
online.ucpress.edu
November 25, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Our annual Middle East issue is out! Featuring Omar S. Dahi on the fall of Syria’s dynasty, Leila Tayeb (@nuqatar.bsky.social) on mobility in militarized Libya, Mehmet Gurses on the transformed Kurdish conflict, Eleanor Gao on Jordan’s tenuous social bargain…
In our November special issue on anti-governance, @duncanbell.bsky.social probes tech tycoons’ posthumanist projects in a review of @adambecker.bsky.social 's book "More Everything Forever."
Machine Dreams of the Tech Barons
Silicon Valley oligarchs are pursuing science-fiction ambitions of immortality and interstellar conquest, with origins in post-Darwinian and colonial thinking.
online.ucpress.edu
November 18, 2025 at 11:04 PM
In our November special issue on anti-governance, @duncanbell.bsky.social probes tech tycoons’ posthumanist projects in a review of @adambecker.bsky.social 's book "More Everything Forever."
Reposted by Current History
Populism thrives not because voters are misled, but because they reject ‘institutionalism’: a world where rules embed the values of elites, while their own are sidelined. It’s a calculated choice for freedom over constraints.
Nice piece by @erik-jones.bsky.social
erikjones.net/2025/11/08/a...
Nice piece by @erik-jones.bsky.social
erikjones.net/2025/11/08/a...
Abandoning Institutionalism
People need to believe in society if they are going to believe in social institutions or institutionalism. Otherwise, they will embrace disintegration until they find a group they are willing to li…
erikjones.net
November 18, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Populism thrives not because voters are misled, but because they reject ‘institutionalism’: a world where rules embed the values of elites, while their own are sidelined. It’s a calculated choice for freedom over constraints.
Nice piece by @erik-jones.bsky.social
erikjones.net/2025/11/08/a...
Nice piece by @erik-jones.bsky.social
erikjones.net/2025/11/08/a...
In our special issue on anti-governance, Holly Case (@brownhist.bsky.social) probes the dark arts of authoritarian fact-making, and the dilemmas of how to respond.
Anti-Governance of the Deed
Observers have long noted authoritarians’ tendency to manufacture their own facts. But opponents are often frozen by a fear of unintended consequences.
online.ucpress.edu
November 14, 2025 at 6:44 PM
In our special issue on anti-governance, Holly Case (@brownhist.bsky.social) probes the dark arts of authoritarian fact-making, and the dilemmas of how to respond.
In our special issue on anti-governance, @erolsaglam.bsky.social explains how conspiracism went mainstream, in Turkey and beyond.
Conspiracism, Politics, and the State in the Twenty-First Century
No longer consigned to the margins of society, conspiracy theories have been normalized as integral to public discourse and governance in many countries. But as developments in Turkey illustrate, this...
online.ucpress.edu
November 10, 2025 at 11:25 PM
In our special issue on anti-governance, @erolsaglam.bsky.social explains how conspiracism went mainstream, in Turkey and beyond.
In our November special issue on anti-governance, @cettamainwaring.bsky.social, Andonea Dickson & Thom Tyerman argue that hardline measures to criminalize migration are ushering in autocracy.
Walls and CagesA Transnational Blueprint for Rising Authoritarianism
The Trump administration’s rapid expansion of immigration controls across the United States is often cast as exceptional. Taking a historical, transnational view reveals that this rising authoritarian...
online.ucpress.edu
November 4, 2025 at 11:11 PM
In our November special issue on anti-governance, @cettamainwaring.bsky.social, Andonea Dickson & Thom Tyerman argue that hardline measures to criminalize migration are ushering in autocracy.
In our November special issue on anti-governance, @erik-jones.bsky.social explores the reasons for the revolt against institutions in advanced industrial democracies.
online.ucpress.edu/currenthisto...
online.ucpress.edu/currenthisto...
Abandoning Institutionalism
The populist revolt against liberal democratic institutions in the United States and elsewhere is not necessarily an irrational backlash, but reflects many voters’ calculations of self-interest. Resis...
online.ucpress.edu
October 31, 2025 at 9:56 PM
In our November special issue on anti-governance, @erik-jones.bsky.social explores the reasons for the revolt against institutions in advanced industrial democracies.
online.ucpress.edu/currenthisto...
online.ucpress.edu/currenthisto...
Enjoy free access (for a limited time) to this essay in our November special issue by @antuliorosales.bsky.social, on the links between cryptocurrency, corruption, and authoritarianism, from the United States to El Salvador and Venezuela.
A New Age of Crypto-Authoritarianism
Cryptocurrencies have become a key component of global democratic backsliding. The imbrication of cryptocurrency and current authoritarianisms has been largely understated and misunderstood as a quirk...
online.ucpress.edu
October 29, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Enjoy free access (for a limited time) to this essay in our November special issue by @antuliorosales.bsky.social, on the links between cryptocurrency, corruption, and authoritarianism, from the United States to El Salvador and Venezuela.
Our November special issue on Anti-Governance is out! Featuring @erik-jones.bsky.social on the abandonment of institutions, @cettamainwaring.bsky.social, Andonea Dickson & Thom Tyerman on hardline migration control, Gideon Lasco on medical populism…
Volume 124 Issue 865 | Current History | University of California Press
online.ucpress.edu
October 27, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Our November special issue on Anti-Governance is out! Featuring @erik-jones.bsky.social on the abandonment of institutions, @cettamainwaring.bsky.social, Andonea Dickson & Thom Tyerman on hardline migration control, Gideon Lasco on medical populism…
In our annual Russia and Eurasia issue, J. Eugene Clay reviews a new book on the efflorescence of eclectic spiritual movements in Soviet end times, under the sign of globalization.
The Eclectic Quests of Late Soviet Spiritual Seekers
Soviet reverence for science and utopian visions inspired a profusion of faith groups in the USSR’s end times, but the influence of globalization was also strong, and it continues to shape Russia’s po...
online.ucpress.edu
October 22, 2025 at 4:48 PM
In our annual Russia and Eurasia issue, J. Eugene Clay reviews a new book on the efflorescence of eclectic spiritual movements in Soviet end times, under the sign of globalization.
In our annual Russia and Eurasia issue, Agha Bayramov (@cirr-ug.bsky.social) details the Caspian ecological crisis and the region's green energy ambitions.
The Emerging Green Energy Corridor in the Caspian Region
The Caspian–European Union Green Energy Corridor is a strategic initiative to bolster energy security and diversification in a tense geopolitical climate. The corridor hinges on large-scale renewable ...
online.ucpress.edu
October 15, 2025 at 6:49 PM
In our annual Russia and Eurasia issue, Agha Bayramov (@cirr-ug.bsky.social) details the Caspian ecological crisis and the region's green energy ambitions.
Reposted by Current History
Congratulations to Joel Mokyr, co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on the role of innovation in driving economic growth. His article, "Capitalism Reinvents Itself," appeared in the November 2013 issue of UC Press's @currenthistory1.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1525/curh...
doi.org/10.1525/curh...
Capitalism Reinvents Itself
The economics of a world of information and automation is radically different from that of a world of wheat, steel, and railroads.
doi.org
October 14, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Congratulations to Joel Mokyr, co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on the role of innovation in driving economic growth. His article, "Capitalism Reinvents Itself," appeared in the November 2013 issue of UC Press's @currenthistory1.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1525/curh...
doi.org/10.1525/curh...
Joel Mokyr, a newly announced Nobel laureate in economics, contributed to our special issue The Future of Capitalism 12 years ago. For a limited time, enjoy free access to his essay:
Capitalism Reinvents Itself
The economics of a world of information and automation is radically different from that of a world of wheat, steel, and railroads.
online.ucpress.edu
October 14, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Joel Mokyr, a newly announced Nobel laureate in economics, contributed to our special issue The Future of Capitalism 12 years ago. For a limited time, enjoy free access to his essay:
In our annual Russia and Eurasia issue, Florian Mühlfried explores the connections between mistrust and protest in Georgia.
Protesting for Europe in Georgia
The Georgian government’s decision to suspend accession negotiations with the European Union in November 2024 triggered a massive wave of protests that continues to this day. These protests are charac...
online.ucpress.edu
October 10, 2025 at 9:50 PM
In our annual Russia and Eurasia issue, Florian Mühlfried explores the connections between mistrust and protest in Georgia.
In our new issue, Olena Strelnyk discusses Ukraine’s surprising strides toward gender equality in the midst of war—one way of distancing itself from Russia.
The Path to Gender Equality in Wartime Ukraine
This article examines three key dimensions shaping gender (in)equality in Ukraine during the full-scale war: legal, geopolitical, and socio-cultural. Legally, martial law reinforces a traditional (pat...
online.ucpress.edu
October 7, 2025 at 10:05 PM
In our new issue, Olena Strelnyk discusses Ukraine’s surprising strides toward gender equality in the midst of war—one way of distancing itself from Russia.
In our new issue, @jeremymorris.bsky.social explains how the Kremlin manufactures and enforces consent for a war that benefits few Russians.
Maintaining the IllusionRussian Society After Three Years of War
Well into the fourth year of war since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian society remains largely compliant, even though few have benefited from the conflict. The working poor who make u...
online.ucpress.edu
October 3, 2025 at 9:27 PM
In our new issue, @jeremymorris.bsky.social explains how the Kremlin manufactures and enforces consent for a war that benefits few Russians.
Enjoy free access (for a limited time) to this essay in our October Russia and Eurasia issue by Nelly Bekus (@nelbek.bsky.social) on Belarus’s transformations since its 2020 pro-democracy protests:
Belarus in the Long Shadow of 2020
The long shadow of 2020’s protests against a rigged election continues to shape Belarus’s political, social, and cultural landscape. The country has undergone a profound reconfiguration of state-socie...
online.ucpress.edu
September 30, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Enjoy free access (for a limited time) to this essay in our October Russia and Eurasia issue by Nelly Bekus (@nelbek.bsky.social) on Belarus’s transformations since its 2020 pro-democracy protests:
Our annual Russia and Eurasia issue is out! Featuring @jeremymorris.bsky.social on Russia’s compliant war society, Olena Strelnyk on Ukraine’s wartime gender equality turn, @nelbek.bsky.social on Belarus’s post-2020 transformations, Florian Mühlfried on mistrust and protest in Georgia…
Volume 124 Issue 864 | Current History | University of California Press
online.ucpress.edu
September 29, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Our annual Russia and Eurasia issue is out! Featuring @jeremymorris.bsky.social on Russia’s compliant war society, Olena Strelnyk on Ukraine’s wartime gender equality turn, @nelbek.bsky.social on Belarus’s post-2020 transformations, Florian Mühlfried on mistrust and protest in Georgia…
In our annual China and East Asia issue, Charlene Makley (@reed.edu) reviews an ethnography of Tibetan Buddhist nuns—and argues for more direct discussion of the political context of Chinese rule in the region, as well as gender issues.
The Politics of Ethnography at a Tibetan Nunnery
Finding out what the women at a massive Buddhist convent really think about gender and power hierarchies is an ethically fraught project that cannot be separated from the context of Chinese domination...
online.ucpress.edu
September 24, 2025 at 9:35 PM
In our annual China and East Asia issue, Charlene Makley (@reed.edu) reviews an ethnography of Tibetan Buddhist nuns—and argues for more direct discussion of the political context of Chinese rule in the region, as well as gender issues.
In our new issue, Junjia Ye explains how a system of ranking labor skills to determine access to rights makes life precarious for migrant workers in Singapore.
How Singapore Manages Labor Migration and Diversity
Singapore has long relied on migrant workers, using a framework of racial categories dating from the colonial era to manage diversity. More recently, the city-state has turned to classifying migrants’...
online.ucpress.edu
September 18, 2025 at 10:43 PM
In our new issue, Junjia Ye explains how a system of ranking labor skills to determine access to rights makes life precarious for migrant workers in Singapore.
In our September issue, Dominik M. Müller (@fau.de) examines growing signs of generational change in Brunei.
Brunei Faces Generational Change
Brunei Darussalam is an absolute monarchy that has resisted decades of international advocacy for democracy and civic rights. Long seen as an anachronism, its autocratic order—anchored in expansive we...
online.ucpress.edu
September 16, 2025 at 10:43 PM
In our September issue, Dominik M. Müller (@fau.de) examines growing signs of generational change in Brunei.
In our new issue, @maximepolleri.bsky.social explains the contentious politics of Japan's ongoing recovery from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Fukushima and the Politics of Nuclear Disaster Recovery
The 2011 meltdown at Fukushima, triggered by an earthquake and tsunami, was the worst nuclear power plant disaster in Japan’s history, bringing back painful memories of trauma associated with the atom...
online.ucpress.edu
September 12, 2025 at 7:34 PM
In our new issue, @maximepolleri.bsky.social explains the contentious politics of Japan's ongoing recovery from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
In our new issue, @pammcelwee.bsky.social examines the Vietnam War’s legacy of ecocide and its implications for present-day conflicts.
Revisiting the Environmental Legacies of the Vietnam War
The 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War provides an opportunity to reflect on the conflict’s enduring scars, from severe ecological damages to lingering human health impacts. In particular,...
online.ucpress.edu
September 9, 2025 at 9:42 PM
In our new issue, @pammcelwee.bsky.social examines the Vietnam War’s legacy of ecocide and its implications for present-day conflicts.
In our new issue, Meg Rithmire examines the glaring contradictions of China’s economy.
China’s Perilously Imbalanced Economic Success
China’s contemporary economic trajectory is paradoxical, marked by both extraordinary technological advancement and mounting macroeconomic vulnerabilities. China has achieved global leadership in adva...
online.ucpress.edu
September 4, 2025 at 8:57 PM
In our new issue, Meg Rithmire examines the glaring contradictions of China’s economy.