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July 2009 (Volume 2, issue 10)
With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 five new nations gained independence in Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. When they emerged onto the world stage they were little understood in the West, often confused with one another, and the subject of jokes on late-night TV. Increasingly, however, these nations demand our attention, whether because of the oil and gas resources in the region, because of the environmental crises — most dramatically the disappearance of the Aral Sea — and because of the strategic location between Russia, China and Afghanistan.
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A marooned boat on what used to be the shore of the shrinking Aral Sea. After their 1991 independence, there was a guarded optimism surrounding the five countries of Central Asia. Today, despite the region's strategic and petroleum importance, the future of these new states appears beached by struggling economies, corruption, authoritarian politics, and the global drug trade.
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Welcome to Origins
A project of the Public History Initiative
and eHistory in the History Department at The Ohio State University.
Origins is a free and ad-free monthly publication
(appearing on the 15th of each month).
In each issue of Origins, an academic expert will analyze
a particular current issue –political, cultural, or social –in
a larger, deeper context. In addition to the analysis provided by each
month’s feature, Origins will also include images, maps, graphs
and other material to complement the essay.
We hope that Origins will
help you understand the world more fully, and that it will prompt you to
think, debate, and learn. The final goal of Origins is to
make us all more informed, engaged citizens. As the American philosopher
John Dewey wrote, “History which is not brought down close to the actual
scene of events leaves a gap.” We hope Origins will
help fill that gap, and we hope you enjoy what you find.
Nicholas
Breyfogle & Steven Conn, editors
Next Issue
NEXT MONTH: Becoming 'European': The Diverging Paths of the Czech and Slovak Republics
by Donald Hempson
Rising from the ashes of the Second World War, the European Union has been perhaps the most important development in modern European history. Initially, it only included those countries we think of as ‘Western Europe.’ Since the collapse of the Soviet empire, however, membership in the EU has expanded dramatically and rapidly and now includes some 27 nations. This has created not simply logistical complications, but a debate over what ‘European’ means. This month, historian Donald Hempson looks at two recent joiners—The Czech Republic (which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency) and Slovakia (which recently adopted the Euro currency)—and how their histories have defined their approaches to European integration.
Recent Issues
by
Andrew Carlson
In the first week of April, Somali pirates raided an American-flagged ship in the Indian Ocean and took the captain hostage. It was only one of several raids along the Somali coast in a 48 hour period. In recent months and years, pirates have made the Horn of Africa the most dangerous place to navigate in the world. This month, historian Andy Carlson examines the very long history of piracy in the region, and explores how the political problems of Somalia as a 'failed state' have contributed to the current wave of maritime brigandage.
by
Kevin Boyle
No city in America has had its fortunes tied to the rise and fall of the manufacturing economy more than Detroit. Home to the American auto industry, symbol of post-war prosperity, Detroit now stands as a synonym for urban decline. This month historian and Detroit native Kevin Boyle gives us a very personal meditation on the city and puts his own experience of growing up in Detroit in historical perspective.
by
Stephanie Coontz
The controversy that still swirls over California's Proposition 8 has kept the issue of same-sex marriage squarely in the national spotlight. For those who oppose gay marriage, allowing same-sex couples the same legal rights as heterosexual couples amounts to nothing less than a revolution in the institution of marriage and the family. This month, historian Stephanie Coontz puts the desire for same-sex marriage into some intriguing historical perspective. She demonstrates that heterosexual couples instigated the real revolution in marriage--the idea that two individuals should be able to choose their partners based on love, sexual attraction, and mutual interests. Gays and lesbians have simply followed suit.
by
Edin Hajdarpašič
and Emil Kerenji
With its unilateral—and highly controversial—declaration of independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008, the former Yugoslavian territory of Kosovo joined the ranks of the world’s sovereign states. Currently recognized by only 53 U.N. member nations, and opposed by Russia, the unsettled fate of Kosovo now sits with the International Court of Justice, which has been asked rule on the legality of its split from Serbia. This month, to mark the one-year anniversary, historians Edin Hajdarpasic and Emil Kerenji explore the roots of the conflicts that led to Kosovo’s separation and evaluate the future prospects for this fledgling state.
by
Ahmad Sikainga
Since 2003, the Darfur region of western Sudan has been the site of terrible violence, death, and displacement; what the United States has labelled 'genocide.' Despite what is currently the world's largest relief operation, efforts to calm the conflict and assist the approximately five million Darfurians suffering ongoing deprivation have produced precious few results. With no end in sight for the turmoil, Ahmad Sikainga, a native of Sudan and Professor of History at the Ohio State University, explores the origins and current status of the Darfur conflict.
by
Patricia Weitsman
It has become a truism of American foreign policy that the United States should undertake military action in coalition with other nations. Under the administrations of both Bushes and Bill Clinton, American diplomats worked hard to broker military cooperation from other nations around the world. The benefits of such coalitions would seem obvious, but in next month's essay political scientist Patty Weitsman explores the costs of fighting in coalition, and comes to some startling conclusions.
by
Mitchell Lerner
The Bush administration's controversial October 2008 decision to take North Korea off the list of state sponsors of terrorism, in an effort to keep Pyongyang's nuclear program halted, opens a new chapter in the history of North Korea's international relations. Nuclear proliferation is worrisome anywhere in the world, but particularly coming from secretive, unpredictable, and, for many analysts around the world, incomprehensible North Korea. Water Mondale once declared 'anyone who claims to be an expert on North Korea is either a liar or a fool.' This month, Mitchell Lerner, a professor of history at Ohio State, braves being called one or the other. He offers insight into how policy is formed in North Korea and what drives its seemingly fickle relations with the rest of the world.
by
Stephen Jones
The brief war in Georgia in August 2008 has ushered in a new era in international relations—although likely not the “new cold war” that so many analysts have rushed to declare. In this month’s article, Stephen F. Jones, one of the world’s foremost specialists on Georgia, explores the origins of this summer’s fighting. The war’s main protagonists—Georgians, Ossetians, Abkhaz, and Russians—have had a long and tangled history, made worse by the swirling nationalism that accompanied the break-up of the Soviet Union, the promise of free-flowing petrodollars, Russia’s international resurgence, and the United States’ recent, active involvement in the region.
by
Bruce Kuklick
With the campaign for the November election at full throttle, candidates will be working hard to persuade voters that their vision for the future is better than their opponents. This month historian Bruce Kuklick offers a provocative and counter-intiutive way to think about the upcoming election. In this thought-piece, Kuklick argues that rather than being about the future of the nation, elections must be about the past.
by
Mansel Blackford
Not too long ago, we viewed the oceans as an inexhaustible resource. Now, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Baltic, from the Mediterranean to the South China Sea we find our oceans struggling, in some cases dying, from pollution, global climate change, and over-fishing. This month, Ohio State historian Mansel Blackford discusses the problem of collapsing fish stocks. Looking at the very different histories of two American fisheries, he explores how best to manage our ocean resources.
In The Archives
The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games have already generated a great deal of political controversy around the world. Protesters have used the Olympic torch relay as a stage from which to protest China’s human rights record, and in response Chinese activists have denounced the protests. This month, historian Al Senn of the University of Wisconsin -- the foremost American historian of the Olympics – reminds us that the Olympics are no stranger to politics and he puts these current controversies in historical context.
Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell both described the way politics and war involve the struggle over the control of language. They remind us that language shapes in powerful and subtle ways the way we understand and respond to politics and military crises. In the spirit of these writers, David Watt examines the term 'muslim fundamentalist' to ask whether it is useful in describing the current political and cultural landscape or whether it obscures as much as it clarifies.
The recent Presidential elections in Taiwan brought to office Nationalist Party leader and Harvard-educated lawyer Ma Ying-jeou, who promises to set Taiwan on a path of much closer economic and political ties with mainland China. As Taiwan strives to bolster its democracy, enhance its economic competitiveness, negotiate coexistence with the mainland, and confront local nationalist unrest, Christopher A. Reed explores the historical trends in Taiwanese politics that have brought the tiny island nation to this turning point.
In light of the current mortgage crisis, the American Dream of homeownership for some people has become an unreachable goal, and for others, a nightmare. Ph.D. candidate at Ohio State University, Lawrence Bowdish, will illustrate the history of the mortgage market and its problems, and why the consequences of that history makes so many homeowners vulnerable today.
The violence and turmoil that overtook Kenya in the wake of the disputed December 2007 Presidential elections came as a surprise to many in the world, as Kenya has long been viewed as a source of stability on the African continent. Claire Robertson, a historian of Kenya and an active fund raiser for Kenyan development projects, explores the historical roots of the contemporary strife and the problem of using 'tribes' to explain the conflict.
Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin since 2000, Russia has become ever richer, ever stronger on the world stage, and increasingly restrictive at home. Now that Putin's term as President is up, Marlene Laruelle offers insight into the upcoming March Presidential elections and what the future holds for Russia at home and around the world.
February 2008: The Second Amendment Goes to Court (Saul Cornell)
| UPDATE: This article was updated on November 7 2008
Few issues divide Americans as thoroughly and angrily as gun control and the Second Amendment. With the Supreme Court agreeing to hear a Second Amendment case for the first time in almost seventy years, Saul Cornell takes a look at the issues at stake and the history of American interpretations of this Amendment, and offers some thoughts on the outcomes.
While the phenomenon of adoption has existed for thousands of years, international adoption is relatively new. The Census Bureau has described in great statistical detail how the shape of the American family has changed dramatically over the last fifty years. This month, Peter Conn, Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania discusses the history and controversy of international adoption.
A vast majority of Americans, according to recent polling, want an end to the Iraq war. The question, however, is how to end it. In this issue Professor Joe Guilmartin examines the 'endgame' of several 20th century conflicts to see what lessons we might learn.
During the course of the war in Iraq, most Americans have become familiar with the terms 'Sunni' and 'Shia.' Few, however, have much sense of the historical origins of these two Islamic groups. In our second issue Professor Stephen Dale provides us with a primer.
Scholars and policymakers alike have been concerned with a new trend in Latin American politics as of late: the anti-American populist. Most emblematic is Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who receives the bulk of media attention, but the phenomenon is not constrained solely to Venezuela.
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