1989 was the year of remarkable popular uprisings throughout the world, most notably Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin…
The Velvet Revolution, November 1989
In 1989, change was in the air throughout all of Eastern Europe. Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost and perestroika –…
The Making of a Martyr – The Murder of Father Jerzy Popiełuszko
Polish opposition to Soviet-backed Communist rule gathered steam with the growing popularity of Solidarity. Founded in 1980 by future Polish…
An Opportunity Lost — The 1991 Iraqi Uprising
In the days following the decimation of the Iraqi Army during Operation Desert Storm, groups of Iraqi minorities, specifically the…
Day of Atonement, Day of Animosity – The 1973 Yom Kippur War
For Egypt and Syria, the 1967 Six-Day War was a bitter defeat at the hands of long-time foe Israel. They wanted to…
Negotiating the End of the Yom Kippur War
Israel’s resounding victory in the Six-Day War of 1967 left the Arab states humiliated and looking to regain the swathes…
Congo in Crisis: The Rise and Fall of Katangan Secession
When the Republic of the Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) became independent from Belgium in June 1960,…
Foundering Phoenix: Solidarity’s Turbulent Rise to Power
The path of Solidarity from dissident group to governance in the 1980s was far from smooth. Founded on September 17,…
Haiti, The Bearer of Scars
Haiti is a land of great beauty and of great suffering. The Haitian proverb, bay kou bliye, pote mak sonje…
“Walking Close to the Edge of the Law” — Honduras and the Contras
In the early 1980s, Contra militant groups in Honduras engaged in guerrilla warfare in an attempt to overthrow the Sandinista…