South Persia and the Great War

Persia and the Golden Rule

My paper has two parts. First, I talk about the golden rule. After introducing the rule and its global importance, I explain why many scholars dismiss it as a vague proverb that leads to absurdities when we try to formulate it clearly. I defend the golden rule against such objections. Second, I talk about the golden rule in Persia and Islam; I consider Persian sources (Muslim and non-Muslim) an...

The War in South Africa

Unipolarity, StatUS Competition, and Great power war

The War in South Africa

At the present moment ail our thoughts are turned on South Africa. The criticarmonienfc has arrived. The tide has reached its lowest ebb, and now the flood-tide of success ou<dit to set in strong. With the arrival of our transports momentarily expected, the arm}' corps will be put into marching order, and the relief of beleaguered Ladysmith cannot long be delayed So far our troops have held the...

The Great War, the Russian Civil War, and the invention of big science.

The revolutionary transformation in Russian science toward the Soviet model of research started even before the revolution of 1917. It was triggered by the crisis of World War I, in response to which Russian academics proposed radical changes in the goals and infrastructure of the country's scientific effort. Their drafts envisioned the recognition of science as a profession separate from teach...