But first, some good news!
On Thursday in England, local elections showed strong support for the Reform Party, the closest thing the UK has to MAGA (which is not particularly close, but still.) Smart money — ie
who is a must-read on UK politics — calls this result a seismic shift, less than a year after the general election that brought Labour back to power. He also thinks that these results mean it’s lights out for the Conservative Party in particular, and in general the urban Uniparty neo-liberal elite consensus that has ruled throughout my lifetime.My second interview with Professor Michael Rainsborough, whose new collection of essays (written with his late colleague David Martin Jones), is now out, was done back in March. We discuss the interview on Louise Perry’s Substack with Mike’s former colleague and my former professor David Betz, who specialises in insurgency and counterinsurgency. That interview made a big impact because Betz — a soft-spoken, thoughtful Canadian not given to hysterical proclamations — sees a civil war in the UK as a possible, if not likely occurance.
I think that Reform’s success last week is heartening, and I welcome it. However, undoing the damage that’s been done by the progressive-left and fake conservative establishment will take far more hard work. In fact, the most dangerous moment is always when people’s hopes are raised by reform, but the reformers cannot deliver the change they promised. That’s what creates a revolutionary environment.
I hope you enjoy our conversation.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Michael Rainsborough
05:11 The Impact of Wokeness on Academia
10:04 Civil War Predictions and David Betts' Insights
15:00 Understanding Dirty Wars vs. Civil Wars
19:45 The Role of Insurgency and Counterinsurgency
24:58 Cultural Narratives and Their Evolution
30:02 The Future of Conflict in the West
36:07 The Northern Ireland Conflict and Its Legacy
39:02 Understanding Post-Normal Lag and Societal Awareness
42:55 Crisis of National Identity and Cohesion
48:34 The Future of Civil Conflict and Cultural Tensions
55:06 Rising Resentments and Cultural Insults
01:01:28 The Ineptocracy and the Crisis of Governance
01:15:41 The Search for Security in Times of Chaos
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