Mustafa Kemal foils the Great Powers’ plan to carve up Anatolia, but they do tear up the Arab lands. The fate of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, where local elites’ belief in the Fourteen Points were crushed by the Powers as they set the table for Zionism and neocolonial mandates.
Audio
Civ 1919: Treaty of Versailles 8 – Greece negotiates too well
The story of Greece’s negotiator Eleutherios Venizelos, and how his success at negotiating sowed the seeds of future disasters.
AER 149: SIT REP JUNE 14 2025
Initial reactions to the new war (audio of the regular youtube sit rep).
Civ 1919: Treaty of Versailles 7 – Japan and China
Japan takes a stand on the principle of racial equality, but it’s a non-starter with the white powers. The Japanese insist, and ultimately yield so they can take a piece of China.
Civ 1919: Treaty of Versailles 6: Italy leaves
Italy joined the allies late and wanted a lot of Yugoslavia. The dress rehearsal for Mussolini, Gabriele d’Annunzio, gathers Argonauts and makes a big move. Another seed of the next war planted at the conference in Paris 1919.
AER 148: The myth of nonviolence
Frederik Soderholm and Mehmet Ali Arslan interviewed me (Justin) for their Fredshetsarna (Swedish) podcast about nonviolence and military matters in West Asia.
Civ 1919: Treaty of Versailles 5 – Eastern Europe
Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Hungary’s fates are decided at the conference in Paris in 1919.
AER 147: Sudan Civil War, the RSF, and the UAE’s subimperialism
Hamza from Defund the UAE joins to talk about the Sudan war. How did it start? Who are the belligerents? What makes the RSF the greater evil? What is the UAE doing in this war? What can be done from the West to help? Hamza mentions Sudanfunds.com and SudanNewsEnglish on telegram, to start.
Civ 1919: Treaty of Versailles pt4 – Germany
The Anglo-Americans blamed the Germans for World War I, and won. Now they would impose terms. But if they sought too high an indemnity, Germany’s economy would collapse and they would never pay. If they helped Germany rebuild, what kind of punishment would that be? In the end, the Allies chose a path that guaranteed the next war.
Civ 1919: Treaty of Versailles pt3 – the Balkans
The Balkans are where the Great War began; there were two Balkan wars before the Great War and there was a Balkan war in the Great War. In Paris, delegations from the region made their cases, the Great Powers made their dispensations. New countries formed and new borders drawn, which would be changed again in the next war.