Stories Archive | Page 5 of 78

Analyses

Yassin al-Haj Saleh, born in 1961, is one of Syria’s foremost intellectuals and a long-standing dissident against the Assad regime. He spent sixteen years in prison for “political reasons,” including time in the maximum-security facility of Tadmur, also known as Palmyra. With the onset of the Syrian Spring, he immediately emerged as an opponent of the regime.

Political Theory, Society
Indian Americans, Christian Nationalists, and Post-Liberal America
Chandra Mallampalli 12 February 2025

At the confirmation hearing of Kash Patel for the position of FBI Director, Senator Thom Tillis introduced him as the son of Indian immigrants from their home state of Gujarat, which he described as a “melting pot” of religions. Patel’s father had fled Uganda during Idi Amin’s expulsion of Indians before ultimately settling the family in New York. Patel displayed his religion and ethnicity alongside his belief in the U.S. Constitution. He saluted his parents by declaring “Jai Sri Krishna,” a greeting that literally means glory or victory to Lord Krishna. If we set aside the grave concerns Democrats raised about Patel’s conspiracy mongering and his ambitions to dismantle the “deep state” by exacting revenge on Trump’s enemies, Patel’s nomination appears to reflect values Democrats would embrace: a commitment to pluralistic democracy, an embrace of racial and cultural differences, and an affirmation of America as a haven for immigrants. But are these the values that drew him to the Trump administration?
International Affairs
Rogozinski on Gaza: “Who Will Forgive us, If We Can’t Ask for Forgiveness for These Crimes?”
Jacob Rogozinski 10 February 2025

By acting this way, the Israeli right and far right have taken all Jews hostage—both in Israel and the diaspora—making us complicit in their crimes. And they have done so in the name of the Jewish people, which means in my name as well. For the first time in my life, I feel ashamed to be Jewish. But this is not the shame of the past—the shame of those who were insulted, humiliated, and confined to ghettos. It is a new kind of shame, rare in our people’s long history—the shame of being complicit in a massacre.
Political Theory
Mimmo Cangiano on the Culture Wars: “Ideas Risk Becoming Mere Commodities”
Fulvia Giachetti 7 February 2025

In Europe and the United States, politics has long been dominated by cultural wars, leading to extreme polarization in public debate. One consequence of this is the overshadowing of economic disparities and social conflicts. What are the origins of this phenomenon, how has it evolved in recent years, and how can it be addressed? To explore these questions, Reset DOC spoke with Mimmo Cangiano, professor of Literary Criticism and Comparative Literature at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. Among his most recent works are Cultura di destra e società di massa (Right-Wing Culture and Mass Society, Nottetempo, 2022) and Guerre culturali e neoliberismo (Cultural Wars and Neoliberalism, Nottetempo, 2024).
International Affairs
Trump’s Old-World Vision Clashes with China’s 21st-Century Rise
Seán Golden 7 February 2025

Trump promised to impose 60 percent tariffs on Chinese trade immediately but has for the moment only imposed 10 percent. Whether this is an attempt to keep face with his voters or a tactical move in a longer-term strategy remains to be seen, as does China’s response and the global consequences. The initial Chinese response has been a cautious tit-for-tat, but the situation is fluid.
International Affairs
Israel’s “Forgotten” Hostages: Omri Miran’s Sister Says,
“We, the Relatives, Are Now a Family.”
Simone Disegni 5 February 2025

Among the Israeli hostages in Gaza, some are still lost, while others are being released. With the ceasefire agreement now in effect, Hamas has begun releasing hostages who were kidnapped over 15 months ago. The first to be freed are women, the elderly, and children, as outlined in the agreement. However, a devastating blow to the families and all of Israel came in the last few hours: not all of the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the agreement – which lasts 42 days – are still alive. Some, likely 8, have died, and only their bodies will be returned. Hamas officially informed Israel, confirming intelligence reports. Meanwhile, there is still uncertainty about the fate of the other hostages not included in this first group. It’s estimated that 63 more hostages remain, most of them men.
International Affairs
For Trump, Is Gaza Merely Real Estate to be Developed?
Hussein Ibish 5 February 2025

Mr Trump seems to regard Palestinians as if they were obstreperous tenants in a New York property that he is looking to develop, who simply are in the way and must be gotten rid of. His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in the past has waxed eloquent about creating beautiful beachfront property developments in Gaza, as if it were not one of the most squalid and overcrowded areas in the world, populated almost entirely by refugees from what became southern Israel in the late 1940s.
Religion, Society
Maha Kumbh Mela Stampede: Why India’s Pilgrimages Keep Turning Deadly
Raul Kumar 3 February 2025

On January 28, 2025, a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, India, resulted in the deaths of at least 30 people and left hundreds injured. The incident at one of the world’s largest religious gatherings once again exposed the vulnerabilities of India’s mass pilgrimages. While such events are deeply embedded in the country’s cultural and religious fabric, they have increasingly become political battlegrounds where governance failures, political patronage, and infrastructural shortcomings intersect with faith.
International Affairs
The Ceasefire is Just a Band-Aid on a Mortal Wound
Claudia De Martino 24 January 2025

On January 19, just before President Trump’s inauguration, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect. While the agreement will not end the 15-month war on Gaza, it marks a significant breakthrough on one of the war’s key objectives outlined by the Israeli government: the release of the remaining hostages. This objective is also the one that enjoys the strongest public support with 57.5 percent of Israelis in favor. After months of negotiations in Qatar, the deal aims to secure the return of all hostages in three stages.
International Affairs, Religion
The Citizenship Battle Dividing Catholic America
Matteo Muzio 22 January 2025

One of the key points of Donald Trump’s new administration program is its commitment to abolish birthright citizenship (jus soli) on his first day as president, as he has declared repeatedly. This would involve using the executive order tool. It didn’t quite happen that way, but it came very close. The new occupant of the White House has signed an order directing federal agencies to stop accepting citizenship applications within thirty days from the children of people entering the country illegally. The text suggests an attempt to get around current laws, as it simply ignores the applications without formally abolishing the right itself.
Political Theory
Modi’s India as a Foretaste of Trump 2.0
Chandra Mallampalli 16 January 2025

January 6 marks the fourth anniversary of an unprecedented attack on the United States Capitol and American democracy. Far more than advancing “the lie” about a stolen 2020 election, the insurrectionists of January 6 presented the world with an alternative understanding of America, one arising from fears of white replacement and steeped in Christian nationalist ideas and imagery. Despite being the only twice impeached U.S. president and a convicted felon, Donald Trump not only won the last election, but also gained majorities in both the Senate and the House and made inroads into Asian, Black, and Latino American communities that typically vote Democrat. These facts should prompt us to reframe January 6 not as a shameful setback for MAGA, but as a catalyst for the movement’s onward march. To what kind of America will Trump 2.0 take us? This is where a comparative lens can be useful.