At 9 a.m. in Bloomington, 14 hours behind Seoul, I received a message that martial law had been declared late at night and soldiers were entering the National Assembly. The news was so frightening that it felt unreal. At first, I assumed it was misinformation, much like the previous heart-wrenching disasters had initially seemed to be. But it was real. Most Korean people spent the day and night …
The Erosion of Memory Consensus The political and symbolic imaginary, the “memory consensus” regarding Georgia’s path toward Europe has come to an end. This consensus gained momentum following the “Rose Revolution” in 2003 and was built on the promise of modernizing Georgia and cutting ties with its Soviet past. Georgia’s pro-Western narrative has been systematically attacked and eroded by the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party. This process began …
The few weeks of speculation are over. Kamala Harris has selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her VP running mate. All six of the leading candidates had strengths and weaknesses that have been endlessly discussed. Whoever Harris selected, some of her supporters were bound to be disappointed. I believe that nothing is more important in U.S. politics at this moment than defeating both Trump and Trumpism. And so …
The prospects for American democracy seemed dimmer than at any time since Donald Trump won the 2016 Presidential election. Harris’s ascendancy has changed everything. Less than two weeks ago the prospects for American democracy seemed dimmer than at any time since Donald Trump won the 2016 Presidential election. Twice-impeached ex-President and convicted felon Trump, surviving a shooting attempt just days before, was exulting in his “martyrdom” and lording …
Joe Biden’s performance last night in CNN’s so-called “debate” with Donald Trump was a monumental disaster, for his campaign and for everyone who cares about democracy in the U.S. Ever since first entering the presidential race in 2019, Biden has claimed to personify the strongest political bulwark against Charlottesville-style neofascism and Trumpist authoritarianism. The claim was redeemed in the 2019-2020 Democratic primary and in the November 2020 election, and …
Tomorrow marks the 54 years since the National Guard fired live ammunition on students at Kent State University on May 4, 1970. For three incredibly tense days last week, my colleagues and students at Indiana University-Bloomington, had reason to worry that we might become “the next Kent State,” with Indiana State Police with high-precision assault rifles mounted on the roof of the Indiana Memorial Union (the central building …
Many thanks to Gérard-Danial Cohen for his critical comments. This text results from a presentation at the workshop After Critical Theory? convened at Queen Mary University London by Eric Heinze, 2 February 2024. Many thanks to him, too, as well as to Jan Čulík, who originally published this piece in Britské listy. May 1968 in Paris must have been great fun. “Beneath the cobblestones lies the beach” claimed …
