"The American Empire Should Be Destroyed": Alexander Dugin and the Perils of Immanentized Eschatology


Book Description

Over two decades have passed since the "Cold War" between the Soviet Union and the West ended. Many citizens of the former Soviet republics and Warsaw Pact nations have embraced the opportunities which come with expanded civil liberties and economic growth, but extremists exploit nostalgia for the days of empire. In the words of Vladimir Putin, "the collapse of the Soviet Union was a major geopolitical disaster of the century." A new ideology-Eurasianism-is being advanced by those who dream of a new empire and revenge on the Western powers which brought about the collapse of the Soviet empire. Aleksandr Dugin, the father of Eurasianism, was recently described by "Foreign Affairs" as "Putin's Brain." For Dugin, the battle between Russia and the West is an epic struggle to fulfill ancient myths: a battle between the mystical forces of the mythical land of 'Arctogaia' and a decadent, materialistic America. "The American Empire should be destroyed," Dugin declares, "And at one point, it will be." America needs to understand the nature of the Eurasianist ideology, and the fanaticism which wages war against the people of Ukraine today, and against the West tomorrow. "All too often, history is driven by the mad passions and ambitions of tyrants-and by warped visions of "progress" crafted in the shadows behind their thrones. James Heiser's brilliant new book drags one of today's most dangerous "gray eminences" into the light. His careful, intricate analysis reveals Aleksandr Dugin, whose twisted ideology shapes Vladimir Putin's brutal and aggressive effort to build a Eurasian empire centered on Russia. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the perilous and irrational motivations of those who now rule in Moscow." -Patrick Larkin, co-author of "Red Phoenix," "The Enemy Within," and other best-selling thrillers, and author of "The Tribune" "James Heiser has written a profoundly fascinating book on an important and troubling man. Anyone concerned about the future of Russia-indeed international affairs in general-should read this book." -Peter Schweizer, President, Government Accountability Institute, William J. Casey Fellow at the Hoover Institution, author, "Extortion," "Victory," and "Reagan's War" "A penetrating analysis of the dangerous totalitarian dogma of the man who has become Putin's Rasputin. If you want to understand the new threat to Western civilization, you need to read this book." -Dr. Robert Zubrin, President, Mars Society, President, Pioneer Astronautics and Pioneer Energy, author, "Merchants of Despair-Radical Environmentalists, Criminal Pseudo-Scientists, and the Fatal Cult of Antihumanism" "As his views reported by Heiser make clear, Dugin believes these are literally the forces of the anti-Christ, and to combat them he calls for the mobilisation of the peoples of Eurasia led by Russia, and including the former Soviet republics, Germany, Central and Eastern Europe, Turkey and Iran, thus forging a 'natural' alliance with Islam while also ensuring Russian access to warm-water ports." --Mervyn F. Bendle, "Putin's Rasputin," for Quadrant Online "Alexander Dugin is little known in Western countries. In this book, James Heiser convincingly advances the case that this Russian philosopher and occultist should be better known and helps us to get to know him. ..". 'The American Empire Should be Destroyed' provides a well-written history of the rise of Dugin and his influence on Russian politics. Likewise, it convincingly makes the case that the West needs to wake up to the threat which Dugin's philosophy poses when it is advocated, in part, by the Russian elite." --Ed Dutton, Quarterly Review




Kierkegaard Trumping Trump


Book Description

We are now becoming numbed by the outrageous events taking place within the political arena of our country. Throughout our nation, the division between factions continues to hold firm. The issue of how movement toward reconciliation can occur has become ever more pressing. Nothing short of our democracy is at stake. This book looks to the writings of the nineteenth-century Danish religious philosopher Søren Kierkegaard as a resource for thinking in fresh ways about how the divine power of creative transformation is at work in the world. Through divinity’s empowering of our practices in relating to others, democracy can be resurrected to a new, healthy life. Six important themes from Kierkegaard’s thought are used to do a comparative examination of Donald Trump together with his world and Kierkegaard and his world. The story of this standoff—between one of the world’s most famous and well-publicized figures and one of the world’s greatest thinkers—constitutes a compelling investigation and presents quite a contrast. Uncovered in the storytelling process of Kierkegaard trumping Trump are the “Sweet 16”: sixteen ways in which resurrection can be practiced in people’s lives and help to restore our democracy to a fuller and more vibrant version of itself.







The Post-Soviet Politics of Utopia


Book Description

More than 700 'utopian' novels are published in Russia every year. These utopias – meaning here fantasy fiction, science fiction, space operas or alternative history – do not set out merely to titillate; instead they express very real Russian anxieties: be they territorial right-sizing, loss of imperial status or turning into a 'colony' of the West. Contributors to this innovative collection use these narratives to re-examine post-Soviet Russian political culture and identity. Interrogating the intersections of politics, ideologies and fantasies, chapters draw together the highbrow literary mainstream (authors such as Vladimir Sorokin), mass literature for entertainment and individuals who bridge the gap between fiction writers and intellectuals or ideologists (Aleksandr Prokhanov, for example, the editor-in-chief of Russia's far-right newspaper Zavtra). In the process The Post-Soviet Politics of Utopia sheds crucial light onto a variety of debates – including the rise of nationalism, right-wing populism, imperial revanchism, the complicated presence of religion in the public sphere, the function of language – and is important reading for anyone interested in the heightened importance of ideas, myths, alternative histories and conspiracy theories in Russia today.




Ideas Against Ideocracy


Book Description

This groundbreaking work by one of the world's foremost theoreticians of culture and scholars of Russian philosophy gives for the first time a systematic examination of the development of Russian philosophy during the late Soviet period. Countering the traditional view of an intellectual wilderness under the Soviet regime, Mikhail Epstein provides a comprehensive account of Russian thought of the second half of the 20th century that is highly sophisticated without losing clarity. It provides new insights into previously mostly ignored areas such as late-Soviet Russian nationalism and Eurasianism, religious thought, cosmism and esoterism, and postmodernism and conceptualism. Epstein shows how Russian philosophy has long been trapped in an intellectual prison of its own making as it sought to create its own utopia. However, he demonstrates that it is time to reappraise Russian thought, now freed from the bonds of Soviet totalitarianism and ideocracy but nevertheless dangerously engaged into new nationalist aspirations and metaphysical radicalism. We are left with not only a new and exciting interpretation of recent Russian intellectual history, but also the opportunity to rethink our own philosophical heritage.




The 21st Century Cold War


Book Description

The 21st Century Cold War is a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the pattern of Russian interference in the internal affairs of other nations, suggesting that what in the Cold War was a simple conflict of East vs. West has expanded into a conflict between Russia and two increasingly separate Wests. The book begins with an examination of the structure of the Cold War and post-Cold War world, and subsequently explores Russian interference by overt, grey, and covert means including, but not limited to, cyberespionage, "fake news", and the use of what in the Cold War would have been called front groups and agents of influence. The approach encompasses both historic and contemporary themes, with the question of whether the Cold War between East and West–capitalism and communism–is a thing of the past, or does it continue today in new ideological guises, as a central theme. Expert contributors explore what the motivations and implications for the pattern of Russian interference in the political processes of other states would be, and what new coalitions of actors are taking shape both for and against Russian activities. With a series of historical and contemporary case studies, focusing on the origins and contemporary dimensions of Russian information warfare, and exploring the issues involved from every perspective, The 21st Century Cold War will be of great interest to scholars of Security and Strategic Studies, International Relations, and Cold War History, as well as policy makers and security professionals. The chapters were originally published as a special issue of Terrorism and Political Violence.




Energy, Environment and Geopolitics in Eurasia


Book Description

This book advances our understanding of security and its intricate interactions with geopolitics and the environment in Eurasia. Norman A. Graham and Şuhnaz Yılmaz focus on Eurasia, where the energy-water-food nexus has emerged as a vital aspect of political economy and increasinglyas a decisive factor for human security. As clearly revealed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this nexus rests on a precarious balance. Graham and Yilmaz argue that Central Eurasia is currently “Running on Empty” and highlight the key environmental challenges, including water quantity and quality and food security. The authors draw on their extensive fieldwork in countries including Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, Turkey, and Uzbekistan to assess the interests and impact of pivotal actors and evaluate the competition and complementarities of these actors regarding water, energy, food security, and foreign policy imperatives. They also examine the broader interaction and implications of security at multiple levels by analyzing the local, national, and international factors in light of geopolitical and environmental challenges. Taking a novel and highly interdisciplinary approach, this book will be an important resource for students and scholars of energy and food security, political economy, international conflict and cooperation, and natural resource politics.




Eternal Putin?


Book Description

The short period of time stretching from the dramatic Constitutional amendments of January 2020, to the war launched by Vladimir Putin against Ukraine in February, 2022, marks a sharp turning point in post-Soviet Russian history. The author explains how Russia got to that point of war. Although Putin, termed ‘eternal’ because of amendments that allow him to run for two more terms as president, is everywhere in it, the book is a study of Russia writ large. It features the political uproar over the Navalny phenomenon, the ravages of the pandemic, manifestations of climate change, and intensifying confrontations between Russia on one side, Ukraine, NATO and the US on the other. The book provides a who, what, where and when of the short but volatile period prior to the outbreak of war, and offers a tentative why it happened. Discussed, too, are the highs and lows of Putin’s popularity; the effectiveness, or not, of economic sanctions, and Moscow’s ‘pivot to the east’. Whereas Putin is a more obvious villain in the unhappy tale, the author makes it clear that Ukrainian and Western leaders are by no means blameless for this state of affairs.




Military Review


Book Description




Trumpocalypse


Book Description

From the authors of the international bestseller The Babylon Code comes an explosive exposé of the chilling truth about the fierce opposition to the Trump presidency, and why the globalist elite and Deep State will stop at nothing-assassination, military coup, staged economic collapse, or worse-to overthrow him. "Trumpocalypse!" It's the media-coined meme inciting panic and fear that America has elected an unstable man who will barge into delicate international affairs like a bull in a china shop and incite nations bent on America's destruction to trigger World War III-an unprecedented nuclear apocalypse ending the world as we know it. But is the media telling us the truth? No, say internationally-recognized prophecy expert and Fox News and History Channel commentator Paul McGuire and Pulitzer Prize-nominated investigative journalist Troy Anderson. America's most insidious enemies are not hostile nations; they are elite globalists-the "Establishment" that is making the "1 percent" even richer while working- and middle-class people watch their incomes and net worth's flatline or plummet. The authors fearlessly expose the globalist elite's secret plan for humanity and campaign of mass deception. Using documentation gleaned from years of journalistic investigation and extensive interviews with over fifty of the world's most respected geopolitical, economic and military affairs experts, faith leaders, and biblical scholars, McGuire and Anderson unmask these elites as members of secret societies with deep occult connections who have gained control of America's dominant institutions-government, education, entertainment, international banking, and even the media. Trumpocalypse explores the enigmatic prophecies and "biblical codes" involving Trump, and asks whether God raised up President Trump as a fearless leader to guide America and the free world through a series of major crises as the biblical end-time narrative unfolds, as many people with prophetic gifts are predicting, and shows why everyday Americans and evangelicals have rallied around Trump as their last hope of saving America and averting the horrors of the Apocalypse. It further reveals why Trump and millions of "deplorables" are fighting to stop the hidden agenda of the Establishment, and how the perplexing chaos enveloping the planet could paradoxically signal the beginning of the great end-times awakening that millions are praying for. Here is an invitation to join the anti-Establishment surge-what evangelist Franklin Graham calls "the Christian revolution"-and discover how to fulfill your own destiny in the run-up to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.