Reflecting History Who presents this program? I have no idea. Anyway, in looking at his Fall of the Roman Republic series, he mentioned that he did some episodes on The Social War earlier on in his podcast, so I thought I’d go back and find them. Episode 10: The Social War: The Beginning of the End takes us back to 140 BCE and the end of the Punic Wars. There were three main issues festering away. First the question of citizenship. Rome’s practice up until then was to conquer, wait two or three generations, and then grant a form of citizenship. The second issue was land displacement. Generals wanted to be able to give land to their soldiers as a reward, but the liberalization of land tenure meant that aristocrats could buy up land and slaves, transforming small-scale agriculture into a large cash crop enterprise. Thirdly, the Senate had been corrupted by the inflow of wealth through expansion. Politics divided into the optimates and the populares. Tiberius Gracchus was criticized by the Senate for the peace terms he contracted to bring the Numantine War to an end in Spain, and when he became Tribune of the Plebs, he was determined to get his revenge. He proposed land reform, which was blocked by the Senate, leading to gridlock. In the end, it was passed, but it didn’t apply to the Italian city-states allies. But the Senate arranged for Tiberius to be killed. After a while, his brother Gaius Gracchus stepped into his place – probably the worst guy for the job because he wanted revenge and would not compromise. He proposed a “Latin rite” whereby all the benefits of citizenship except the vote would be extended to the Allies. This was sensible, but the Senate refused it, first because it was Gracchus who suggested it, and second because they feared being swamped. The Senate and Consuls decided to purge all the Graccan supporters, and Gaius committed suicide. The Gracchus brothers might be gone, but the problems were still there.
If You’re Listening (ABC) Why is Russia Meddling in West Africa? This is only a 15 minute podcast, so it doesn’t go into much detail. Niger had a coup a couple of years ago, and it has happened again as Gen Omar Tchiani took power before he could be fired by the president President Bazoum. Niger has huge reserves of uranium, and this attracted French companies. There has been unrest across the Sahal (i.e. the shoreline of the Sahara). In Mali, the French invaded to repel Islamic extremists, but this led to huge waves of refugees which France didn’t want to end up in France, so the French stayed there and called for NATO assistance. Waves of jihadist uprisings began in Mali which were put down by the military generals who had seized power, with “white men” soldiers arriving by helicopters- Wagner mercenaries which were called in by the military government, paid for by gold. In 5 months there were military coups in Guinea, Sudan and Burkina Faso, and they now all have deals with Wagner or the Russian government . Niger was the last to have a democratic government, but recently it had a coup too, not orchestrated by Russia or Wagner, but where people waved Russian flags and attacked the . Eleven surrounding pro-Western countries threatened to invade if the president wasn’t reinstated. Mali and Burkina Faso have declared that they will fight to defend the coup leaders. This podcast is also presented as a video, found here (actually it’s worth watching the video version for the old footage)
Rear Vision (ABC) Rear Vision had a segment on Niger as well. Niger and the Legacy of Colonization looked at French colonialism more generally. Under de Gaulle, France embarked upon a relationship of ‘cooperation’ with its former colonies including Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso whereby technological, medical provision and defence would be provided by France, in return for military bases and access to mineral resources. Needless to say, this arrangement worked more in France’s favour than Niger’s. Also, currency was tied to the French franc, which provided a form of economic stability but also led to economic dependence on France, and the flow of wealth outwards. In the 1990s, there was a movement towards democracy, and the erstwhile President Bazoum’s party has been in power since 2011, with increasing levels of corruption and economic instability. Niger’s economic woes were exacerbated by COVID, and intensified by the increasing population, the youngest and fastest growing in the world. Islamic extremism in Mali saw French and US troops stationed there, and the Sahal has become a hotbed of Islamic terrorism. There have been five coups in former French colonies in recent years. ECOWAS (The Economic Community of West African States) at first threatened intervention, but is now having second thoughts and looking to dialogue instead. The former French colonies are looking for alternative support through Russia and China.
New Books Network Australian and New Zealand Studies Tanya Evans talks about her new book in an episode of the same name: Family history, historical consciousness and citizenship: a new social history. Evans, who is now at Macquarie University, started her academic life in the UK where she studied non-conventional families (e.g. unmarried mothers in the 18th and then in the 20th centuries). As part of this work, she became aware of the importance of family histories, and when she wrote her book on the NSW Benevolent Society (Fractured Families – see my review here), she collaborated with family historians. Family history started off as being about ‘pedigree’ but changed during the 1970s, especially in settler colonies. She argues that family history transforms people in the present e.g. in their attitudes towards refugees, sexism and classism that they seen in their own family, and that family historians see themselves as professionals, with qualifications and peer review. In the past, people were embarrassed about convicts and illegitimacy in their families – a situation that has certainly changed, but this does not extend to mental illness, which is still seen as a source of shame. She speaks about the sniffyness amongst academic historians towards family historians (guilty as charged) and then launches into a rather lame argument about the economic value of family history. She suggests that family history is often derided as being for ‘mature women’, but then talks about generativity, the feeling of wanting to leave a legacy, that Erikson’s (1959) psychosocial stages of development identified between the ages between 40 and 65.
Sydney Writers Festival. If this festival is anything to go by, then we sure need an infusion of new blood in talking about politics. Same old people talking to each other. In This is Their Life, Laura Tingle interviews Paddy Manning, Niki Savva and Margaret Simons, all of whom have written recent political biographies.
Now and Then. The recent publication of Donald Trump’s mugshot arose from the charges he is facing in Georgia, and as Heather Cox Richardson and Joanne Freeman explain in Pardons: Politics and Power, this Georgia case is the one that might actually land him in jail. Georgia is one of only 6 states in the US that has an independent pardons board, which only swings into action when someone has been jailed for 5 years. They then go through different times when pardons were offered e.g. George Washington with the Whisky Rebellion, and post Civil War when Democrat Vice-President Jackson offered pardons to Confederate soldiers. Georgia instituted its board when E. D. Rivers, a New Deal democrat during the 1930s sold off pardons to prisoners and friends of his black chauffeur. It was so corrupt that even Georgia set up a pardons board. Pardons are an expression of power, which was the central question of the constitution.
99% Invisible Melanie Speaks. In the days before the internet, it was harder to access ‘self-help’ about beyond a book, cassettes and then later video. This was particularly true of voice-training. For trans women in the 1990s salvation came through a videotape where ‘Melanie’ gave advice on how to achieve a more feminine voice. While doing so she was aware that it was anti-feminist, but she encouraged her listening to “become the stereotype” of a woman. The trans presenter of the program and her cismale producer decided to try and track down ‘Melanie’, but they later agreed among themselves not proceed, given that ‘Melanie’, despite being a prolific writer, had adopted a separate, private identity. The episode finishes with an interview with Roman Mars, where they discuss voices and the way that we all adapt our voices over time. I wish the presenter would stop saying “like” every second sentence. It’s bad enough hearing it on the train: surely a podcast should be free of it.
The Resident Judge of Port Phillip 