Category: European History

“The Rise of Authoritarianism” – Sakharov Conference in Vilnius, Lithuania

I had the great opportunity to participate in the Sixteenth International Sakharov Conference in Vilnius Lithuania, on May 21-22. Organized by Robert van Voren, this conference brought together activists, NGOs, diplomats, dissidents, academics, and other government officials, to discuss the ongoing rise of authoritarianism, especially in the West, as well as the war of aggression launched by Vladimir Putin against Ukraine. With the subject title, “Fifty years after the founding of the Helsinki Movement,” we discussed the democratic dissident movement that fought for human rights during the Soviet period. My discussion of the psycho-dynamics of Trump’s authoritarianism came under the section on “The Current Political Climate.” I was joined on stage by Janet Anderson (UK), George Kent (USA), Margarita Å eÅ¡elgytÄ— (Lithuania), Hans Brask (Denmark), and Helmer Krane (Germany). We had a wonderful meet-and-greet at the Norwegian embassy in Vilnius; we watched the film, “To the Success of our Hopeless Cause,” about dissidents during the Soviet period at the Czech Embassy in Vilnius, and heard an amazing concert by Alexey Botvinov (Odesa, Ukraine) in memory of Semyon Gluzman, who recently passed away. For all intents and purposes, Gluzman was a force to be reckoned with, as was well displayed by those who attended the conference who knew and loved him. His spirit was with us even though his physical presence was not. Overall, this was an amazing opportunity and experience and I thank Robert van Voren for inviting me to participate. I hope my meager contribution was meaningful.

While in Vilnius, I did two media interviews on top of the one I already did while I was in Rome. Here’s the first of three (In Lithuanian): Trump is a Psychopath.

During my free time, I explored The Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights, located inside of the former KGB building in Vilnius. The prison cells in the basement were disturbing, as was the execution room, where thousands of dissidents were murdered. I also visited the Cathedral Basilica of St. Stanislaus and St. Ladislaus of Vilnius, the main Catholic Cathedral in Vilnius. I also explored the history of Vilnius and Lithuanian Christianity with the tour of the Basilica’s catacombs. Vilnius is a beautiful city, and its solidarity with the Ukrainian cause is admirable. Ukrainian flags were seen throughout the city, as its own memory of occupation by the Soviet Union is invoked with each missile Putin launches into Ukraine.

The conference schedule can be found here: 16th Sakharov Conference – Vilnius, Lithuania.

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New Book: Beyond Eurocentric Social Theory: The Nomadic Intellectual on Religion, Culture, and the State

I am happy to announce that Esmaeil Zeiny and I recently published our book, Beyond Eurocentric Social Theory: The Nomadic Intellectual on Religion, Culture, and the State, which is a collection of essays that engage the work of the Iranian social theorist and my dear brother, Seyed Javad Miri. Dr. Miri is an encyclopedia of knowledge regarding social thought, both Western and Islamic. He has published books and articles on a wide variety of topics, from Iranian politics and culture to Western theory in conversation with Eastern philosophical and religious thought. His work has influenced countless intellectuals and we have attempted to honor him with this collection of essays, published by DeGruyter Brill.

I would personally like to thank Dr. Esmaeil Zeiny, who did the bulk of the heavy lifting on this project, which allowed me some intellectual space to keep working on the many projects that Seyed Javad and I are always involved in, including our Institute for Critical Social Theory, our journal Critical Perspectives, and the numerous books he publishes with Ekpyrosis Press. If there is good in this new book, it is the work of Esmaeil Zeiny and the authors; if there are mistakes, they’re mine.

Look closely at the cover and you’ll see that Seyed Javad is looking back at you!

Get yourself a copy of the book: Beyond Eurocentric Social Theory: The Nomadic Intellectual on Religion, Culture, and the State.

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The University of Olivet in Italy 2026

From April 27th to May 10th, I led a group of students and friends on a journey to Italy to study Medieval and Renaissance Christianity. We began our trip in Venice, where we studied Venetian mercantilism, the history of the Doges, as well as the history of this unique water-bound city. After visiting the Doge’s Palace, we traveled up the bell tower in St. Mark’s Square to see the city from its highest point. We took a day trip to Padua to visit the Scrovegni Chapel as well as the Basilica of San Anthony, the both of which are amazing examples of medieval religiosity. From Venice, we traveled to Florence, where we studied Dante Alighieri, Niccolò Machiavelli, Savonarola, and the Medicis. We visited the Santa Maria del Fiori, the Franciscan church of Santa Croce, the Uffizi Galleries, as well as the Galleria dell ’Accademia. By chance, while standing in line to visit the Museo di San Marco, I ran into the American travel guru, Rick Steves, with whom I had a wonderful conversation about traveling and the state of the world. He was there to update his Florence guidebook; I was there to see the martyr Savonarola, on whom I will eventually write a book. We had a wonderful concert that night of Pachelbel, Bach, Mozart, and Vivaldi. Leaving Tuscany, we traveled to Assisi to study the life of St. Francis and St. Clare. This year has been declared the year of St. Francis by Pope Leo XIV, since it was 800 years ago that St. Francis died. I also met the author and longtime resident of Assisi, Mrs. Pricilla Calderini, and purchased a copy of her book, Mount Subasio: A Legend of Assisi. She is an amazing Brit-turned-Italian lady, who grew up near Oxford, but has lived in Assisi for over 60 years. Leaving Umbria, we traveled to Rome, the eternal city. While the students were all exhausted, we continued our studies, visiting the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, the Roman Forum, the Capitoline Museum, The Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica. We also spent some time at the catacombs of San Callixtus. In Rome, we saw our second concert, a mix of opera arias at an Episcopal Church: St. Paul’s Within the Walls. We had wonderful guides, wonderful dinners, and wonderful conversations. Overall, we had an amazing trip, which I hope the students learned a lot from. As always, thank you Witte Travel and Tours and Kristina Choura for constructing this most amazing travel class. I look forward to teaching on the road again!

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Institute for Critical Social Theory Conference in Istanbul, July 8-10, 2026

The Institute for Critical Social Theory has released its Call for Papers for the 2026 conference at Marmara University in Istanbul, Turkey. The theme of this year’s conference is “Critical Social Theory in an Age of Global Uncertainty.” We, the organizers, would love to see you all there. Send us an abstract! For more details, see the full Call for Papers below:

ICST – Call for Papers 2026Download
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Two new paperbacks of two new genius books!

The end of the year 2025 has seen the release of two paperback versions of the books I recently co-edited and published with Brill. The first is, “Sigmund Freud as a Critical Social Theorist: Psychoanalysis and the Neurotic in Contemporary Society,” co-edited with Seyed Javad Miri. The Second is, “The Many Faces of Populism: Perspectives from Critical Theory and Beyond,” co-edited with Mlado Ivanovic and Jeremiah Morelock. The paperbacks were published by Haymarket Books in Chicago, as part of the Studies in Critical Social Sciences series, edited by David Fasenfest.

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Just Released: On Christian Nationalism: Critical and Theological Perspectives

In late November 2025, Routledge just released the edited volume, On Christian Nationalism: Critical and Theological Perspectives, edited by David M. Gides and Joan Braune. In it, I have a chapter entitled, “Messianic Ruscism: Christian Nationalism and the Lure of Putin’s Russkii Mir,” which discusses why certain American Christian Nationalists look to palingenetic Russia, with its reversal of Soviet theomachism for the resurgence of Orthodoxy and autocracy, as a model of what they’d like to do in America. The “symphonia” of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Putinist state is a template for a renewal of “Christian America” for many self-avowed Christian Nationalists, who see “shared values” in the conservative values of the anti-West politics of Putin (and Alexander Dugin). Obviously, I’m deeply critical of this vision for America as well as for Russia. Get yourself a copy of this book. Joan and David did an excellent job!

You can find the book at Routledge’s website: On Christian Nationalism.

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UO Students to The Zekelman Holocaust Center

On Thursday, November 13th, 2025, I was able to take the students in my “Religion and Philosophy in the Third Reich” course at The University of Olivet to The Zekelman Holocaust Center in Farmington Hills, MI. For many of the students, it was the first time they were confronted with artifacts and exhibits related to the mechanized mass extermination of a civilian population: the Jews of Europe. We had a wonderful guide, “Jimm,” who not only explained the many exhibits on display, but reminded the students about the categorical need to stand up to injustice, prejudice, violence, and genocide. If you haven’t been to The Zekelman Holocaust Center, I would strongly suggest a visit. It is well worth it. Below are just a few of the pictures taken on our visit:

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Discussing the “Magic Helper” at the Self & Society Symposium – Chicago

On August 7th, I had the wonderful opportunity to discuss my book, The Dark Charisma of Donald Trump: Political Psychology and the MAGA Movement, at the Self Society Symposium (SSS) at Loyola University in Chicago. The SSS is coordinated by the great scholar, Lauren Langman, of Loyola University. I was joined by many other sociologists, psychologists, theologians, and philosophers to discuss ongoing issues in our society, especially the U.S. drift towards authoritarianism. In my presentation, I used Erich Fromm’s notion of the “Magic Helper,” found in his seminal 1941 book, Escape from Freedom, to highlight how Trump’s most submissive devotees perceive him as a national messianic force. We had a wonderful dinner and discourse the night before our symposium at Lauren’s house in Lincoln Park, for which Lauren was the most gracious host.

If you are interested in my book, The Dark Charisma of Donald Trump: Political Psychology and the MAGA Movement, it is available three different ways: Ekpyrosis Press Website; Amazon; Lulu.

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