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Articles on anti-communism

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Supporters of Ukraine, like these demonstrators in Boston on Feb. 27, 2022, are likely to be disappointed by any peace deal. Vincent Ricci/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Lessons in realpolitik from Nixon and Kissinger: Ideals go only so far in ending conflict in places like Ukraine

The US frequently chooses to put its own interest ahead of its professed values. That approach to foreign policy is called ‘realpolitik’ and it may lead to an unsatisfying peace deal in Ukraine.
Efforts to reduce tensions between the Koreas, like the 2018 inter-Korean summit, are frequently the target of disinformation campaigns in South Korea. AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

Disinformation is spreading beyond the realm of spycraft to become a shady industry – lessons from South Korea

Disinformation is being privatized around the world. This new industry is built on a dangerous combination of cheap labor, high-tech algorithms and emotional national narratives.
The yellow-and-red striped flag of the defeated American-backed Republic of Vietnam flies at the U.S. Capitol insurrection Jan. 6. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Why the flag of South Vietnam flew at US Capitol siege

Onlookers who recognized the flag wondered why the mostly white mob had ‘coopted’ Vietnamese history. But Vietnamese Americans are Trump supporters, too, some driven by a potent fear of socialism.
President John F. Kennnedy personally bid the first Peace Corps volunteers farewell. AP Photo/William J. Smith

How the US government sold the Peace Corps to the American public

The agency’s earliest ad campaigns emphasized youthful idealism, patriotism and travel opportunities. That was an easier sell than urging Americans to enlist in an anti-communist operation.
Crowds protesting the forced retirement of judges, in front of Poland’s Supreme Court building, Warsaw. AP/Czarek Sokolowski

Poland’s judicial purge another step toward authoritarian democracy

With its attempt to purge the country’s courts of 40 percent of its judges, Poland’s right-wing ruling party passed another milestone on the path towards establishment of a one-party state.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream – which alternated between shattered and hopeful – can be traced back to Hughes’ poetry. AP Photo

Langston Hughes’ hidden influence on MLK

In order to avoid being labeled a communist sympathizer, King needed to publicly distance himself from the controversial poet. Privately, King found ways to channel Hughes’ prose.
Adi Rukun questions Commander Amir Siahaan, one of the death squad leaders responsible for his brother’s death during the Indonesian genocide, in Joshua Oppenheimer’s documentary The Look of Silence. Courtesy of Drafthouse Films and Participant Media.

The Look of Silence and prequels bring Indonesia’s dark legacy of 1965 killings into the light

Oscar nominated documentary The Look of Silence follows an optometrist whose brother was killed in Indonesia’s 1965 massacre. But to understand the bigger picture, viewers should watch its prequels.

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