"What's New? How Is the World Treating You?"

In 1939 Johnny Burke (1908-1964) composed the music and Bob Haggard (1914-1998) wrote the lyrics for the hit song "What's New?" whose first line serves as the title of this blog.  To listen to Linda Ronstadt (born 1946) perform "What's New?" with Nelson Riddle (1921-1985) and his orchestra (Asylum, 1983), click here.  A new window will open, allowing the music to play in the background.

Check this web page for occasional posts containing news and commentary, mainly about events in Central Europe.  To read the article of your choice, either click on the title that appears in the table of contents or scroll down the page.
   
For news and commentary from the most recent past quarter, click here.  For earlier quarters in the year or previous years, see the Introduction and Index for "What's New?"

Table of Contents for the Fourth Quarter of 2020


“How to Keep the Lights on in Democracies: An open Letter of Concern by Scholars of Authoritarianism”    2 November 2020



“Regardless of the outcome of the United States’ election, democracy as we know it is already imperiled.  However, it is not too late to turn the tide.”  These are the first lines of an open letter of academics specializing in authoritarian regimes–from dictatorships to totalitarian states–who are warning Americans about the threats to their country’s democracy.  I have added my name to the list of signers.  See http://newfascismsyllabus.com/news-and-announcements/an-open-letter-of-concern-by-scholars-of-authoritarianism/.