Victor Davis Hanson

relating to the ideas of the ancient Greek historian Thucydides, especially regarding power and conflict

A Thucydidean reading of modern conflict strips away ideological pretense to reveal the permanent grammar of power.

adj. pertaining to land especially agricultural land

Agrarian values — self-sufficiency, rootedness, civic responsibility — have been systematically devalued by managerial elites.

a citizen-soldier of ancient Greece, usually armed with a shield and spear

The hoplite citizen-soldier embodied a civic ideal in which military obligation and democratic participation were inseparable.

relating to the period of great achievement in Athens under the leadership of Pericles

Periclean Athens demonstrated that democratic confidence and military resolve could coexist without contradiction or apology.

a leader or dominant power, especially in politics or economics

A declining hegemon that signals irresolution invites precisely the challenges its diminished strength cannot adequately meet.

n. 1 class of small freeholders who cultivated their own land; 2 a British volunteer cavalry force formed in 1761 for home defense later part of the Territorial Army

The yeomanry of independent farmers once supplied republics with citizens whose self-reliance preceded their political convictions.

n. anything that prevents or discourages.

Deterrence collapses not when adversaries become stronger but when they conclude that resolve has abandoned the stronger party.

the belief that historical context is important for understanding events and ideas

Historicism allows us to view current events through the lens of historical patterns and insights.

n. 1 the ancient world especially before the Middle Ages; 2 the quality of great age.

Antiquity supplies not nostalgic comfort but unsentimental instruction in how civilizations are lost through complacency.

adj. relating to or characteristic of the classical Greek civilization

The Hellenistic world's cosmopolitan diffusion of Greek culture carried both intellectual vitality and political fragmentation.

related to a leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than using rational argument

Demagogic flattery of popular passions was as recognizable to Aristophanes as it remains to any attentive observer today.

n. politics based on practical and material factors rather than on theoretical or ethical objectives

Realpolitik without moral foundation produces tactical wins and strategic catastrophes, as classical history repeatedly demonstrates.

n. a narrow-minded or limited view of the world

Provincialism rooted in genuine community is preferable to the rootless cosmopolitanism of those who belong everywhere and nowhere.

a term describing admiration for or appreciation of foreign cultures or influences

His Xenophonic admiration for practical leadership over theoretical brilliance shapes how he evaluates both ancient and modern commanders.