Marek Jan Chodakiewicz

Unlike in Western Europe, where, following the slaying of George Floyd, so-called “sympathy demonstrations” ensued against “American racism,” the Three Seas region has been relatively calm. In fact, if anything, the original sympathy toward the protesters in Minneapolis has turned sour as the images of mayhem, violence, arson and looting across America zoomed over the…

As America frets about for the most optimal model to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, some pundits cast their longing eyes at Sweden. They see the Swedish response as eminently desirable for grounded in liberty and individualism. To emulate the Swedish way, however, would be anything but. At the theoretical level, Stockholm’s apparently hands off approach…

According to one sage observation: he who gets to name names, wins. Why do we talk about the Protestant Reformation and not the Protestant Revolution, for example? After all, Martin Luther commenced his journey as a reformer, repulsed righteously, as most of us would be, by the corruption and decadence of the Rome of his day. He wanted to…

On May 10, 2020, the coronavirus pandemic claimed another victim: Poland’s presidential election. It was cancelled following much acrimonious debate. More precisely, it was postponed at least until July of this year. The cancellation of the election is seemingly a clear win for the opposition, which vociferously demanded a postponement as it is running seriously…

Mrs. Bernice Gilbride called me one day some 15 years ago to let me know that she had a donation for the Institute of World Politics. “Marek,” she said in her usual composed, yet firm voice, “the German government has sent me a compensation check for slave labor and I’d like to write it over…

During the First World War, the Poles failed to take advantage of German offers for an alliance because Berlin really failed to offer them much.  The result was a permanent clinch between the occupiers and the occupied. As Jesse Kauffman puts it in his thoughtful Elusive Alliance: The German Occupation of Poland in World War I (Cambridge,…

An abbreviated version of this article was published by American Thinker. Nationalism is what made us great, argues Rich Lowry in The Case for Nationalism: How It Made Us Powerful, United, and Free (New York: Broadside Books/HarperCollins Publishers, 2019). Nationalism tends to sport its particular flavor depending on who champions and shapes it.  In our…

As the world battles the global coronavirus pandemic, Budapest stands accused of using the crisis to enshrine authoritarianism via parliamentary vote—by giving conservative prime minister Victor Orbán extraordinary powers forever. An angry clamor has gone up, calling for Hungary to be expelled from NATO and the EU. Such calls are premature, however. There is no…

Dr. Marek Jan Chodakiewicz recently reviewed Civil War in Central Europe, 1917-1921: The Reconstruction of Poland by Johen Bohler.  A civil war? A civil war signifies a fratricidal struggle of sorts, like in the American Civil War (1861-1865) or during the revolution in Russia (1917-1921). Yet, internal strife is rarely unambiguous. Sometimes it is right…

Professor Henry Kamen of Oxford was one of the fiercest detractors of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition (currently known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith). Then Pope John Paul II allowed him into the Secret Vatican Archives which led to the publication of The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision (New…