Commentary / World Jul 30, 2013
A maddening category in which America soars
The focus on economic indicators has prevented consideration of the geopolitical implications of the ever-increasing rates of severe mental disease in America.
Commentary / World May 22, 2013
How modern nationalism gave birth to terrorism
If we want to understand what drove the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, to terrorism, the answer almost certainly does not lie in Dagestan, where the brothers lived before moving to the United States, or in the two wars fought in ...
Commentary / World Sep 27, 2012
Roots of Japan-China rivalry
The anti-Japan protests that continue to roil China are just another indication of the rise of a potent Chinese nationalism. After a century slowly fomenting among Chinese intellectuals, national sentiment has captured and redefined the consciousness of the Chinese people during the last two ...
Commentary / World Sep 17, 2012
Competition for national dignity drove 9/11
September 11, 2001, may — at least at first — seem like an inappropriate addition to the history of nationalism, given al-Qaida's explicitly stated global pretensions. In fact, now that the initial shock and confusion have given way to a more sober perspective, the terrorist ...