Tag / nationalism
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Monumental Disunity: What The World’s Largest Statue Tells Us About The Power Of Memory
India is now home to the world’s largest statue. On November 1st, workers completed construction on the 50-story tall “Statue of Unity” which overlooks the Narmada River in Gujarat. The new project stands 40% taller than the previous record holder, China’s Spring Temple Buddha, and is intended to attract tourists to the state and anchor…
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The Empire Strikes Back: Soccer In A Postcolonial World
As the final whistle blows at a World Cup Quarter Final watch party in Miami, I leave the venue alongside dozens of silent yellow-clad Brazil fans, many on the verge of tears. With their heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to Belgium, Brazil’s elimination narrows the competition to six teams going into the second leg of the Quarter-Finals—all…
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Mr. Modi’s India
In 2014, Narendra Modi, leader of India’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), became Prime Minister of India by winning the largest democratic election in history. He handily defeated the Congress Party’s candidate, and assumed office with a powerful mandate to reform. Modi’s decisive electoral victory proved the health and dynamism of India’s democracy. His opponent,…
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First Britain, Then America, Then…
Shock, confusion, despair. I encountered these emotions in June while in England, and again on November 9 on campus. I was staying with my father in London, and most people had already assumed that the United Kingdom would stay in the European Union. I walked past a mural of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson—the most…
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Switzerland: Minarets and Immigration
Back on November 29, 2009, Swiss voters turned out for a national referendum and overwhelmingly opted to ban all further construction of minarets throughout the country. 19.5 of the 23 cantons that comprise Switzerland voted for the ban, which does not apply to the four minarets already constructed and existing in Switzerland, but prohibits further…
