John Heathershaw

The Right Response to Christian Nationalism

John Heathershaw

@jheathershaw.bsky.social

I wrote something on one of the urgent political questions of our time: how to respond to Christian nationalism.

open.substack.com/pub/johnheat...

The “Unite the Kingdom” rally was a dangerous post-Christendom moment. UK Christians are caught between shunning Christian nationalism and salvaging an acceptable version. Neither option will do.

open.substack.com

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How Do We Respond to Christian Nationalism?

The “Unite the Kingdom” rally was a dangerous post-Christendom moment. UK Christians are caught between shunning Christian nationalism and salvaging an acceptable version. Neither option will do. On 13th September 2025, the “Unite the Kingdom” rally brought up to 150,000 supporters of Far Right activist Tommy Robinson to London for a march which was exuberant, menacing, and at times violent. Many marchers were carrying crucifixes or flags emblazoned with Christian imagery. The coming together of nationalism and Christianity was undeniable. This …

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A guest post by Nick Megoran on the 80th anniversary of an extraordinary peace which shows that true peace does not conform to the patterns of this world.

John Heathershaw

@jheathershaw.bsky.social

"Even [the] ugly and dehumanising fusions of religion and militarism cannot obscure our ineradicable sense that human life is a gift of God, that we are created imago Dei, in his image."

johnheathershaw.substack.com/p/an-extraor...

An Extraordinary Peace

johnheathershaw.substack.com

An Extraordinary Peace

A guest post by Nick Megoran on the 80th anniversary of an extraordinary peace which shows that true peace does not conform to the patterns of this world. World War II ended 80 years ago this month, on September 2nd, 1945, when the Japanese government formally surrendered. A virtually unknown but extraordinary event that occurred late in the conflict tells us some important things about how we as Christians can pursue peace in the world today.

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What would Martin Luther say about kleptocracy?

Medieval priests indulged sin for payment. Today's "pastoral" financial and legal professionals indulge kleptocracy. We remain bad at recognising our corruption and the structural reality of sin. I’ve taken a break from Security After Christendom in the past few weeks as I’ve desperately been trying to cram in some research and public engagement activities before the new academic year begins.

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Peter Mandelson seen as ‘worth the risk’ as US ambassador, minister says

John Heathershaw

@jheathershaw.bsky.social

It’s not clear to me how Peter Mandelson’s “singular talents” differ from his elite network connections that meant he had a relationship with Epstein (and Trump). Isn’t that why they put him in place?

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Peter Kyle says ‘singular talents’ were balanced against warnings as Epstein accuser’s family criticise appointment

www.theguardian.com

Professional indulgences: the kleptocracy problem and the transformation of global politics

John Heathershaw

@jheathershaw.bsky.social

👏😅

Robert Hutton @roberthutton.co.uk · Sep 8

So much weird in here, but hard to disagree that the average Saxon would have recognised policies of sinking vessels you don't like the look of, and imprisoning people who look different.

Reposted by: John Heathershaw, Dorothy Bishop, Steve Peers , and 3 more John Heathershaw, Dorothy Bishop, Steve Peers, Tim Bale, John L. Cotter, Graham Dutfield

Robert Hutton

@roberthutton.co.uk

So much weird in here, but hard to disagree that the average Saxon would have recognised policies of sinking vessels you don't like the look of, and imprisoning people who look different.

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Reposted by: John Heathershaw

Tena Prelec

@tenaprelec.bsky.social

*New & open access*
We draw on our book Indulging Kleptocracy, reflecting on the importance of networks - even more than states, we argue - in today’s global order.

@oxfordacademic.bsky.social
@jheathershaw.bsky.social
@britishacademy.bsky.social

journal.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/articles/13/...

This article discusses the phenomenon of transnational kleptocracy and explains how kleptocrats and oligarchs have been welcomed in rule-of-law settings The paper summarises a large body of research,...

journal.thebritishacademy.ac.uk

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by John Heathershaw — Reposted by: John Heathershaw

John Heathershaw

@jheathershaw.bsky.social

I’m looking forward to chairing this event at the Appledore Literary Festival. I’ll speak with the journalist Michael Sheridan about his book on China, the Red Emperor. If you’re in Devon, join us!

appledorebookfestival.littleboxoffice.com/events/123175

MICHAEL SHERIDAN: THE RED EMPEROR – XI JINPING

An eye-opening portrait of Xi Jinping, the man who presides over 1.4 billion people and the second largest economy on earth. In a compulsively readable narrativ

appledorebookfestival.littleboxoffice.com

Professional indulgences: the kleptocracy problem and the transformation of global politics

John Heathershaw

@jheathershaw.bsky.social

@tenaprelec.bsky.social Tom and I wrote this paper based on @oxunipress.bsky.social Indulging Kleptocracy for @britishacademy.bsky.social journal.

Our global future will be increasingly kleptocratic unless govts enforce their own laws.
journal.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/articles/13/...

This article discusses the phenomenon of transnational kleptocracy and explains how kleptocrats and oligarchs have been welcomed in rule-of-law settings The paper summarises a large body of research,...

journal.thebritishacademy.ac.uk

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Postscript

Jonathan Chaplin, Jodok Troy, Vassillios Paipais, and Andrew Bolton each generously engaged with my work. They highlight that Security After Christendom (2024) is a work of apocalyptic thought. Over the last year, I have been summarizing my book Security after Christendom. By reading the fifteen posts on this blog, you can consume the argument for free in about two hours at your leisure. Or you can go to this single post for a talk which made the argument in Washington DC. The alternative is to pay US$44 (UK£36) for two whole days of reading w…

Reposts 0 Aug 29

Towards Better Judgment [Book Conclusion]

Security After Christendom (2024) was written over six years and completed as the war in Ukraine, a neo-Christendom war, began. Does it offer a better way to political judgment? Judge for yourself. Russia’s impending and then enacted invasion of Ukraine dominated the months in which Security After Christendom was completed. Although published in early 2024, the manuscript was completed in the summer of 2022. This shattering war within the heartland of what was once Eastern Christendom has led to vociferous debate about how and why it happened, aga…

Reposts 0 Aug 22

How to protect your university against authoritarianism

John Heathershaw

@jheathershaw.bsky.social

An excellent book on a topic that many of us have worked on for years. The problem of authoritarianism for academic freedom isn’t purely external (as some on the Right claim) or purely internal (as some on the Left claim). It is both, intertwined.

www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/how-p...

US institutions are facing threats to academic freedom from the Trump administration, yet they must also stay vigilant to authoritarianism from abroad. Here is what university leaders and academics ca...

www.timeshighereducation.com

Surviving the aid cuts: working politically to deliver value at lower cost

John Heathershaw

@jheathershaw.bsky.social

This is an excellent blog on how working politically in aid is hampered by large disbursements.

“As one staff member put it: 'generally, [aid] money disrupts change, it does not promote it'.”

Ergo: don’t scale up.

Small disbursements via small often faith based agents.✅

odi.org/en/insights/...

As aid cuts begin to hit hard, these rich lessons on how to achieve impact by taking politics seriously and focusing on issues that galvanize people are some of the best tools we have.

odi.org

John Heathershaw

@jheathershaw.bsky.social

Thank you!

‘Come meet us in Dubai’: the new offshoring of grand corruption

Abundant Provision [Book chapter 12]

In an apocalyptic world of politically generated scarcity, abundant provision is based on an economy of sharing within & between small communities. In such practice, we bear witness to the state. In an apocalyptic world of politically generated scarcity, abundant provision is based on an economy of sharing within & between small communities. In such practice, we bear witness to the state.

Reposts 0 Aug 15

Reposted by: John Heathershaw

Alex Prichard

@profalexp.bsky.social

A cracker from my colleague John Heathershaw and his co-author
Ricardo Soares de Oliveira. #Capitalismisthecrisis

@jheathershaw.bsky.social

Sensitive business is moving towards more permissive jurisdictions in response to tighter regulations and greater media attention.

theconversation.com

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John Heathershaw

@jheathershaw.bsky.social

Darwin says “unfinished” in the sense of contradictory processes which were not resolved. I’d want to emphasise legacies especially the offshore system created under English common law including some extant colonies and expanding well the time (including to Astana and Baku)!

Justice Department Subpoenas Office of Letitia James, a Trump Nemesis

John Heathershaw

@jheathershaw.bsky.social

Again, right out of the authoritarian playbook. All very familar to me from living in West Africa and Central Asia.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · Aug 8

Breaking News: The Justice Department is said to have subpoenaed New York Attorney General Letitia James. One of the subpoenas relates to her office's civil fraud case against President Trump, the other to a case against the National Rifle Association.

Ms. James, New York’s attorney general, won a civil fraud case against President Trump that is on appeal. One of the two subpoenas is related to that case.

nyti.ms

The killing of Gazan children, moral injury, and the church

John Heathershaw

@jheathershaw.bsky.social

In war, even the victors and their supporters who are physically unharmed can be morally injured. What else explains lack of due regard for the killing of children (including by those who claim to be humanitarians and Christians)?

open.substack.com/pub/johnheat...

Most Western Christians expect Hamas to kill innocents but when Israel does so, many try to justify these deaths. The idea of "moral injury" helps explain IDF war crimes and Christian justifications.

open.substack.com

Justice Department Subpoenas Office of Letitia James, a Trump Nemesis

The killing of Gazan children, moral injury, and the church

Most Western Christians expect Hamas to kill innocents but when Israel does so, many try to justify these deaths. The idea of "moral injury" helps explain IDF war crimes and Christian justifications. Israel is now planning to launch a complete “takeover of Gaza city”, 21 months into a war which Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed will lead to Hamas’ destruction. While Hamas has not yet been destroyed, almost 60,000 Gazans have been directly killed and tens of thousands more have life altering injuries. The UN counts 50,000 Gazan children who have died or b…

Reposts 0 Aug 8

Reposted by: John Heathershaw, Brendan Nyhan

The New York Times

@nytimes.com

Breaking News: The Justice Department is said to have subpoenaed New York Attorney General Letitia James. One of the subpoenas relates to her office's civil fraud case against President Trump, the other to a case against the National Rifle Association.

Ms. James, New York’s attorney general, won a civil fraud case against President Trump that is on appeal. One of the two subpoenas is related to that case.

nyti.ms

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A glimpse of Gaza’s miserable future

John Heathershaw

@jheathershaw.bsky.social

Netanyahu is like the head teacher of a school which stops the kids getting food, where part of the playground is run by bullies, and whose teachers kill lots of the kids as punishment. When inspectors question the head’s decisions, he blames the bullies.

economist.com/middle-east-...

The territory will remain at the mercy of outsiders for years to come

economist.com

How politicians use the Bible

John Heathershaw

@jheathershaw.bsky.social

"One of the defining features of the Trump decade is the strange combination of conservative Christians’ fervent loyalty to the president and Trump’s obvious ignorance of Christianity. Playing to his base, Trump pretends to be an ardent follower of a faith he couldn’t care less about."

Christian Century @christiancentury.bsky.social · Jul 31

“To understand the role the Bible plays in our politics, we have to focus less on what biblical texts mean and more on how the Bible is used.”

– Mac Loftin

www.christiancentury.org/features/how...

Scholar Hannah Strømmen provides a helpful guide for navigating our scripture-saturated political...

www.christiancentury.org

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