Russian Identitarian Philosophy and its Influence Upon Putin's Russian Federation, 2017
This paper explores the foundations, implications, and political consequences of Russian traditio... more This paper explores the foundations, implications, and political consequences of Russian traditionalist philosophy, specifically addressing the history of Russian traditionalism, its influence upon the French nouvelle droite, and how these concepts are manifested within Putin's United Russia Party. Further, this paper will explore how these ideas are being populated within the European and American far right, enabling a more accurate measurement of Russian foreign policy activities and their intensity in the post-Soviet era.
This paper will seek to ask the tough questions as to why Zimbabwe -- a prosperous nation at the ... more This paper will seek to ask the tough questions as to why Zimbabwe -- a prosperous nation at the time of transition to majority rule -- collapsed economically as a besieged ZANU-PF reacted against outside public opinion and began undoing the careful work of social progress the government had embarked on. This paper will further examine critically the outside pressures levied by the South African apartheid-led government, failures of both the United States and United Kingdom to aid Zimbabwe's transfer to majority rule, the failure of the United Kingdom to back the Lancaster House "willing buyer, willing seller" commitment for land reform, and finally whether Mugabe's actions were influenced in whole or in part by these events -- in effect creating a pincer movement thwarting both the Zimbabwean government's ability to reinvest both socially and fiscally while pushing ZANU-PF to play a political dead man's hand -- opting for politically popular land grabs that only further buckled and finally broke the agricultural backbone of Zimbabwe's economy.
One of John Cornwall's contentions in his highly controversial book Hitler's Pope is that the Vat... more One of John Cornwall's contentions in his highly controversial book Hitler's Pope is that the Vatican conspired to remove any and all obstacles to the rise of the National Socialist regime, including the dismantling of the Catholic Center Party under Ludwig Kaas after attempts to arrive at a governing coalition with the National Socialists failed disastrously in July 1932. This paper will seek to address this claim, demonstrating that the Catholic Center Party was no puppet of the Vatican. Instead, a combination of events led to the ultimate internal collapse and external strangulation of the Center Party, both as the Nazi regime took hold and Catholic interests moved away from a politically-driven assertiveness in the public square even as the Vatican moved towards a more defensive and protective posture with regards to temporal power in the wake of the 1929 Lateran Treaty.
Pope Francis has remarked that acedia-a condition long referred to as "the noontime devil" in the... more Pope Francis has remarked that acedia-a condition long referred to as "the noontime devil" in the Western monastic tradition-is the great sin of the modern age. As scientific advancement continues to exponentially increase against our incremental understandings of self, the distance between our material capability and our spiritual refinement has created a gap challenging Western understandings of faith, culture, suffering, and human freedom. This paper will explore these challenges in the light of Schelling's commentaries on human freedom and Kierkegaard's discourse on modernist society, specifically with an eye towards Pope Francis' re-introduction of the works of Romano Guardini to the Catholic world.
Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin borrows a great deal from former British Prime Minist... more Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin borrows a great deal from former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's aphorism regarding Russia itself: a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. What is often left out is that Churchill did believe there was a key to the puzzle: Russian national interest. Putin himself has instructed members of his own party to review the works of three Russian philosophers and theologians, specifically those of Nikolai Berdayev, Vladimir Solovyov, and Ivan Illyin. Within each context of Russian national interest, Byzantine and Orthodox traditions concerning polity and the rule of law, and Putin's own intellectual vision for a new Russia, such fusion of Orthodox, Slavic, and Byzantine traditions quickly bring into focus Putin's determination to see Russia as a respected and co-equal partner alongside the EU and US, realizing and fulfilling Russia's 21st century role as both a Third Rome and the proper defender of Western Civilization at its periphery. Russian President Vladimir Putin's shift from foreign policy realism to nationalist idealism since the 2008 Georgian crisis has not gone unnoticed by Kremlinologists. Once viewed as a modernizing and Westernizing influence by European and American observers, Putin's recent moves into Ukraine after the Maidan Revolution, the annexation of the Crimea, and the current air campaign against the Islamic State in Syria and the Levant (ISIL) has shown a degree of Russian chauvinism not seen since the Soviet-era incursions into Angola and Afghanistan in the late 1970s. Once thought to be a partner in the War on Terrorism, Putin's latest moves have shifted Western narratives, demonizing Putin's new Russia as a mafia, or worse as a destabilizing force in Europe that must be met with more firm response from NATO approaching that of a second Cold War.
In the latter part of the 1800’s, America represented new ideas in religion and politics, but Eur... more In the latter part of the 1800’s, America represented new ideas in religion and politics, but Europe was not quite ready for them; she was battling her own demise against rationalism. In an effort to retain the relevance of the Holy See, it emphasized tradition as a deposit of faith and a safeguard for orthodoxy, and papal pronouncements took on a more authoritative role. Thus, Testem Benevolentiae weakened the American Church just the nation was emerging in prominence; Pascendi Dominici Gregis consequently subdued her intellectual life for a generation. The real thawing finally began to occur after the publication of Divino Afflante Spiritu by Pope Pius XII in 1943, and the formation of the Catholic Biblical Association. When the Second Vatican Council was called in a show of collegiality away from the Romanization since the First Vatican Council, the Americans were able to contribute substantially to the documents produced. Though conflict between various schools of theology remains inevitable, the Catholic Church in America has made great strides since the end of the 19th century and is demonstrating that American Catholics have recovered significantly enough to participate once again in Catholic scholarship in a distinct and meaningful way.
MFIs have struggled to link monetary assistance to savings and ultimately prosperity on a level c... more MFIs have struggled to link monetary assistance to savings and ultimately prosperity on a level comparable with Western expectations. Some solutions have offered more money, the forgiveness of debt in a general MFI jubilee, or a focus on more complex monetary schematics that require a greater degree of understanding and involvement than the recipient may feel comfortable exposing themselves towards. Viewing the exchange in terms of actual product, whether it is fertilizer, machinery, equipment, or basic implements of a trade offers the goal of a market economy without expecting an immediate liquid return as a consequence. Rather, a commodities-based focus would not have to necessarily neglect the idea of seeing a return on investment, but rather treat such a return as a happy consequence rather than an immediate result. In environments where monetary speculation and currency fluctuations can freeze and eviscerate economies in places such as Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Argentina, Lebanon, and to ever increasing degrees South Africa, China, and India, the grand solution may not be a focus exclusively devoted to liquidity, but rather the provision of stable commodities insulated from the fluctuations of rapidly developing markets, non-mature banking institutions, and governments who can artificially alter the local means of exchange – often at the expense of the poor.
A brief presentation on some of the sources of Russian President Vladimir Putin's philosophical u... more A brief presentation on some of the sources of Russian President Vladimir Putin's philosophical underpinnings in the wake of his September 2015 visit to the United Nations.
Russian Identitarian Philosophy and its Influence Upon Putin's Russian Federation, 2017
This paper explores the foundations, implications, and political consequences of Russian traditio... more This paper explores the foundations, implications, and political consequences of Russian traditionalist philosophy, specifically addressing the history of Russian traditionalism, its influence upon the French nouvelle droite, and how these concepts are manifested within Putin's United Russia Party. Further, this paper will explore how these ideas are being populated within the European and American far right, enabling a more accurate measurement of Russian foreign policy activities and their intensity in the post-Soviet era.
This paper will seek to ask the tough questions as to why Zimbabwe -- a prosperous nation at the ... more This paper will seek to ask the tough questions as to why Zimbabwe -- a prosperous nation at the time of transition to majority rule -- collapsed economically as a besieged ZANU-PF reacted against outside public opinion and began undoing the careful work of social progress the government had embarked on. This paper will further examine critically the outside pressures levied by the South African apartheid-led government, failures of both the United States and United Kingdom to aid Zimbabwe's transfer to majority rule, the failure of the United Kingdom to back the Lancaster House "willing buyer, willing seller" commitment for land reform, and finally whether Mugabe's actions were influenced in whole or in part by these events -- in effect creating a pincer movement thwarting both the Zimbabwean government's ability to reinvest both socially and fiscally while pushing ZANU-PF to play a political dead man's hand -- opting for politically popular land grabs that only further buckled and finally broke the agricultural backbone of Zimbabwe's economy.
One of John Cornwall's contentions in his highly controversial book Hitler's Pope is that the Vat... more One of John Cornwall's contentions in his highly controversial book Hitler's Pope is that the Vatican conspired to remove any and all obstacles to the rise of the National Socialist regime, including the dismantling of the Catholic Center Party under Ludwig Kaas after attempts to arrive at a governing coalition with the National Socialists failed disastrously in July 1932. This paper will seek to address this claim, demonstrating that the Catholic Center Party was no puppet of the Vatican. Instead, a combination of events led to the ultimate internal collapse and external strangulation of the Center Party, both as the Nazi regime took hold and Catholic interests moved away from a politically-driven assertiveness in the public square even as the Vatican moved towards a more defensive and protective posture with regards to temporal power in the wake of the 1929 Lateran Treaty.
Pope Francis has remarked that acedia-a condition long referred to as "the noontime devil" in the... more Pope Francis has remarked that acedia-a condition long referred to as "the noontime devil" in the Western monastic tradition-is the great sin of the modern age. As scientific advancement continues to exponentially increase against our incremental understandings of self, the distance between our material capability and our spiritual refinement has created a gap challenging Western understandings of faith, culture, suffering, and human freedom. This paper will explore these challenges in the light of Schelling's commentaries on human freedom and Kierkegaard's discourse on modernist society, specifically with an eye towards Pope Francis' re-introduction of the works of Romano Guardini to the Catholic world.
Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin borrows a great deal from former British Prime Minist... more Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin borrows a great deal from former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's aphorism regarding Russia itself: a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. What is often left out is that Churchill did believe there was a key to the puzzle: Russian national interest. Putin himself has instructed members of his own party to review the works of three Russian philosophers and theologians, specifically those of Nikolai Berdayev, Vladimir Solovyov, and Ivan Illyin. Within each context of Russian national interest, Byzantine and Orthodox traditions concerning polity and the rule of law, and Putin's own intellectual vision for a new Russia, such fusion of Orthodox, Slavic, and Byzantine traditions quickly bring into focus Putin's determination to see Russia as a respected and co-equal partner alongside the EU and US, realizing and fulfilling Russia's 21st century role as both a Third Rome and the proper defender of Western Civilization at its periphery. Russian President Vladimir Putin's shift from foreign policy realism to nationalist idealism since the 2008 Georgian crisis has not gone unnoticed by Kremlinologists. Once viewed as a modernizing and Westernizing influence by European and American observers, Putin's recent moves into Ukraine after the Maidan Revolution, the annexation of the Crimea, and the current air campaign against the Islamic State in Syria and the Levant (ISIL) has shown a degree of Russian chauvinism not seen since the Soviet-era incursions into Angola and Afghanistan in the late 1970s. Once thought to be a partner in the War on Terrorism, Putin's latest moves have shifted Western narratives, demonizing Putin's new Russia as a mafia, or worse as a destabilizing force in Europe that must be met with more firm response from NATO approaching that of a second Cold War.
In the latter part of the 1800’s, America represented new ideas in religion and politics, but Eur... more In the latter part of the 1800’s, America represented new ideas in religion and politics, but Europe was not quite ready for them; she was battling her own demise against rationalism. In an effort to retain the relevance of the Holy See, it emphasized tradition as a deposit of faith and a safeguard for orthodoxy, and papal pronouncements took on a more authoritative role. Thus, Testem Benevolentiae weakened the American Church just the nation was emerging in prominence; Pascendi Dominici Gregis consequently subdued her intellectual life for a generation. The real thawing finally began to occur after the publication of Divino Afflante Spiritu by Pope Pius XII in 1943, and the formation of the Catholic Biblical Association. When the Second Vatican Council was called in a show of collegiality away from the Romanization since the First Vatican Council, the Americans were able to contribute substantially to the documents produced. Though conflict between various schools of theology remains inevitable, the Catholic Church in America has made great strides since the end of the 19th century and is demonstrating that American Catholics have recovered significantly enough to participate once again in Catholic scholarship in a distinct and meaningful way.
MFIs have struggled to link monetary assistance to savings and ultimately prosperity on a level c... more MFIs have struggled to link monetary assistance to savings and ultimately prosperity on a level comparable with Western expectations. Some solutions have offered more money, the forgiveness of debt in a general MFI jubilee, or a focus on more complex monetary schematics that require a greater degree of understanding and involvement than the recipient may feel comfortable exposing themselves towards. Viewing the exchange in terms of actual product, whether it is fertilizer, machinery, equipment, or basic implements of a trade offers the goal of a market economy without expecting an immediate liquid return as a consequence. Rather, a commodities-based focus would not have to necessarily neglect the idea of seeing a return on investment, but rather treat such a return as a happy consequence rather than an immediate result. In environments where monetary speculation and currency fluctuations can freeze and eviscerate economies in places such as Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Argentina, Lebanon, and to ever increasing degrees South Africa, China, and India, the grand solution may not be a focus exclusively devoted to liquidity, but rather the provision of stable commodities insulated from the fluctuations of rapidly developing markets, non-mature banking institutions, and governments who can artificially alter the local means of exchange – often at the expense of the poor.
A brief presentation on some of the sources of Russian President Vladimir Putin's philosophical u... more A brief presentation on some of the sources of Russian President Vladimir Putin's philosophical underpinnings in the wake of his September 2015 visit to the United Nations.
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