In a separate post I made (linked in body), a commenter noted how significantly advanced European democracies have been in "updating" their democratic systems to further increase the effectiveness of their democracies, as opposed to the stale US system. Can you please elaborate?

I found the comment pasted below very intriguing. Commenter is stating that many European countries have advanced their system of democracy. I'm looking for examples of such advancements and how they came to be established?

"A lot of it is structure of their government and an understanding of how to build society. Political science has demonstrated again and again that the best way to build a robust democratic society in today's world is to strengthen and enable parties. Most other democracies do that by using parliamentary systems, non FPTP voting rules, and by avoiding divisions of power. The US takes the opposite approach in all these areas because too many Americans are still hailing Washington's farewell address as the epitome of political philosophy! (By the way, Washington was wrong about everything in that address. He was a great leader but not a great politician.)

The US has antiquated, poorly-designed structures and rules for a modern democracy. In 1775, the US was on the forefront, but since then, we've learned a lot about how to build a better democracy, and the US has sat on the sidelines and watched while everyone else enacts meaningful reform. The idea that so many Americans have that our democracy is perfect and the real issue is the "career politicians" is cancerous, ignorant, and eminently falsifiable. It's downright stupid. If American democracy wants to be "great again" then looking to the past isn't the way to go. It's time to show some humility and learn from our neighbors."

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ask_Politics/comments/lg7v2v/this_article_by_axios_says_that_european/gmq25t2/?context=3

1 Answers 2021-02-12

[NSFW] Can anyone identify the circumstances of this picture (inside thread) of a WWII atrocity? (Warning, very unpleasant)

https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.8pD7PTH5Klt8ZTmNnUZ8RgHaJQ?pid=ImgDet&rs=1

I have googled this image and found only Brazilian or other language text that I cannot translate.

1 Answers 2021-02-12

Didn’t Vikings raid before they sailed west?

I thought they did, and if so, where and when did they start

1 Answers 2021-02-12

Why did Robespierre throw Danton under the bus?

I've seen a couple of film adaptations of the French Revolution only and the reasons why Robespierre throws Danton to the wolves is confusing to me because I think politically the only thing separating the two is a question of whom is the 'more' radical. Surely Robespierre knew that if he advocated for the killing of Danton then it would mean his head. Then why do it? If Robespierre just played himself straight and cool and let Danton come back to Paris and spout his vitriol then Danton's head would have been under the blade. What did Danton do to Robespierre to make him not an ally and contrariwise, why did Robespierre not understand if he turned against Danton it would mean his head?

1 Answers 2021-02-12

Business Plot / Wall Street Putsch

So I heard about something called the Business Plot on TikTok. It isn’t proven, but apparently a group of fat cat businessmen were scared of the FDR administration because they thought the New Deal would bring communism to the USA. They liked how in then-fascist states like Germany and Italy the fascist governments would treat rich elites very well and would stamp out communism. A group of those businessmen went to retired USMC Major General Smedley Butler, who was the head of the American Legion (a group of disgruntled WWI veterans). They offered to give him money to take his group of veterans and march to DC and overthrow FDR and create a fascist dictatorship. They didn’t know that he had became a radical anti-capitalist since his Marines day, so he took this information to US Congress, and we were able to avoid a fascist coup in the USA. George HW Bush’s father, Prescott Bush, was one of the alleged involved members.

I wanted to know how true this was, because it seems insanely interesting. I also wanted to know where I could read and learn more about it.

Sources:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Plot

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeR3XYUm/

https://www.npr.org/2012/02/12/145472726/when-the-bankers-plotted-to-overthrow-fdr

1 Answers 2021-02-12

Did McCarthy legitimately believe in Soviet infiltration of Hollywood, or was it merely a convenient excuse to attack liberal, West Coast elites?

2 Answers 2021-02-12

Is there any connection between the Roman Festival of Liberalia and Saint Patrick's day, or is the dating just coincidence?

Theres been rumors floating around you see..

1 Answers 2021-02-12

If credit score wasn’t implemented until 1989 how did banks decide who to give mortgages to before that?

1 Answers 2021-02-12

Was Japan successful in their attack of Pearl Harbour?

I have been trying to broaden my knowledge on pearl harbour and I am reading conflicting views on whether it was successful or not? what is your opinion:) thank you

edit: thank you so much everyone! very helpful comments, I appreciate it very much!

2 Answers 2021-02-12

Books on historical theory

Hi everyone, I hope this question falls under permissible topics for this thread. I recently started my first semester of graduate school for history and find myself woefully ill informed when my peers discuss theoretical concepts about history. If anyone knows of any good books to introduce me to different theoretical concepts it would be greatly appreciated.

2 Answers 2021-02-12

why would pirates ever fly a red "no quarter" flag? What was the strategic advantage? Wouldn't it just encourage the enemy to fight to the last man?

2 Answers 2021-02-12

In 1192, Conrad of Montferrat, King of Jerusalem, was famously assassinated by agents of the Hashashin Order. To this day, the question of who ordered the hit remains unsolved, but who are the prevailing "most likely" culprits?

2 Answers 2021-02-11

Was the invasion of the Phillipines considered a prerequisite to the invasion of the Dutch East Indes by Japan?

Did the Japanese military leaders consider it necessary to invade the Philippines prior to the invasion of Indonesia, or was it just a diplomatic coincident? I feel like the proximity of the former and its naval bases must have assigned it some value to achieve the latter task.

1 Answers 2021-02-11

Did the Aztec/Maya have contact with the Inca?

If so, what was the extent of the contact, was it just like Rome and China with a distant understanding of each other’s existence? Or was it a more like full contact and trading?

1 Answers 2021-02-11

How suicidal would pike to pike warfare be?

In ancient phalanx and pike and shot i have saw a few pike to pike reenactments and the causality rate would be terrible suicidal. Knowing humans tend to not want to die, how pikes and shot/ phalanx worked?

1 Answers 2021-02-11

Why were the deck heights in 1700’s war ships so short?

1 Answers 2021-02-11

How did the Japanese in WW2 manage to cross the Pacific Ocean to attack Pearl Harbor relatively unnoticed?

I understand there weren’t satellites back then and we didn’t have long range radar or sonar technologies that were developed in the couple decades following the war. But did we have no other bases/contact points/anything really west of Hawaii at that time? If I remember correctly the Philippines fell after the Pearl Harbor attacks right? So was that fleet unnoticed due to lack of scouting technology we have today mostly?

3 Answers 2021-02-11

Who ruled / governed an individual city or province in Imperial China?

While the emperor rules all of China, I keep wondering who governed a specific province or city of China during the various dynasties and can’t seem to find the answer anywhere

1 Answers 2021-02-11

Why were there so few slaves in the UK from the West African Salve trade

Despite being intimately involved in the trade the UK seems to have exported its slave ownership to America (before and after 1776) and the West Indies.

There does seem to be some slaves brought back but rarely and ‘house slaves’. There doesn’t seem to have been any use of slaves for industry or farming.

Why?

1 Answers 2021-02-11

Quote from Hilter about the Armenians (From the Armenian Genocide).

Hello, I am looking into more details of the Armenian Genocide, and its affects on further events in history due to the Ottoman Empire and Turkish Government not getting punished for their crimes.

I have heard the quote mentioned a few times: "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?" by Hitler himself in 1939. I cannot find the proper sources for this, and my question is if this was addressed in this exact way, or was it paraphrased, or is it not true? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

1 Answers 2021-02-11

Why was the “bull, horns, and loins” strategy of the Zulus so effective?

I would assuming that the idea of attacking the enemy and flanking them with your forces while holding some more men in reserve to be an extremely common strategy seen throughout history. This tactic was observed throughout the world yet met with much less success, primarily due to the fact that flanking the enemy was an expected move. Why was this strategy so effective when used by the Zulus?

1 Answers 2021-02-11

Why is the french revolution viewed as a good thing?

2 Answers 2021-02-11

Is there a 'feigned amnesia' over British and European Imperialism in academia?

The Irish president Michael D Higgins has attacked academics and journalists for having a "feigned amnesia" over British Imperialism specifically and European imperalism in general. President Higgins was very vague in his statement:

"As I reflect on the topic, I am struck by a disinclination in both academic and journalistic accounts to critique empire and imperialism."

Is there any truth in this idea? Is British/European Imperialism (in any of its aspects) a topic that is shyed away from by academics in the UK and Europe?

Links to both articles:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/11/empire-ireland-century-partition-present-britain-history

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/11/irish-president-michael-d-higgins-critiques-feigned-amnesia-over-british-imperialism

3 Answers 2021-02-11

Why did Queen Victoria never go by Empress Victoria when she had numerous domains?

1 Answers 2021-02-11

The Hebrew Bible talks about idol worship and how it shouldn't be done. Is there an historical precedent that suggests that ancient polytheist actually practiced the worship of idols, or was the claim of "idol worship" a caricature of the use of religious statues and symbolism in pagan worship?

For instance, when we see religious statues today (such as in Hinduism, neopaganism, and even in Catholicism) it is generally understood that the practitioners of these religions do not literally believe that the "idols" are the deity they're worshipping, but rather, representations of the divine (and not divine itself). Is this true of those polytheists derided by the Bible as 'idol worshippers' as well, or is there evidence that ancient religions really did believe that religious statues were divine themselves?

1 Answers 2021-02-11

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