Hello, and happy Friday! I’m back after a brief sabbatical from this correspondence, during which I took a trip to Scotland, got my second COVID jab, marked my 5th anniversary of working at The Atlantic, and hurt my throat after cheering a bit too hard during this week’s England-Denmark semifinal.
Speaking of which, I’m hearing unconfirmed reports that the football is … coming home? The Americans reading this have probably heard this phrase thrown around a lot over the past week, in which case I hope this brings some clarity:
What I’ve written
For England, soccer (or, as Britons will no doubt correct me, the football) represents one of the few outlets to express its nationalism. Following the English national team’s semifinal victory against Denmark, I wrote about how the England squad has laid out its own vision of Englishness—one that is compassionate, inclusive, and unapologetically progressive.
Apart from the national soccer, cricket, and rugby teams, “there are literally no other institutions that have an English dimension,” Sunder Katwala, the director of the identity-focused think tank British Future, told me. “But the sporting teams represented it, and in representing it, they changed it.” Keep reading here
Hungary will hold elections next year and, for the first time in more than a decade, no one knows what the outcome will be. That’s because the country’s main opposition parties have banded together in a bid to oust the country’s longtime prime minister, Viktor Orbán. I spoke with Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony, one of the opposition leaders vying to be the coalition’s prime ministerial candidate, about why this might be their best—perhaps their only—chance at reversing Hungary’s democratic decline.
If the Hungarian opposition succeeds—not simply in winning, but in undoing Orbán’s damaging legacy—its strategy could prove instructive for opposition movements in other budding autocracies. If it fails, Hungary’s next election may be, in the deeper democratic sense, its last. Keep reading here
In the run up to Joe Biden’s summit with Vladimir Putin in Geneva, I wrote about how Russia’s efforts to expel Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty from the country is a legacy of the Trump presidency—and a test for Biden’s.
How he approaches this issue, and whether his administration makes good on its pledge to respond if Russia doesn’t relent, will reveal the extent to which Biden’s foreign policy centers human rights. His approach will also test whether what Atlantic contributor Tom Wright has described as the Biden doctrine can go beyond simple rhetoric. Most pressing, at least for RFE/RL, it could determine whether the news service’s 30th year of operating in Russia will be its last. Keep reading here
What I’ve read
This tremendous essay, in which Abraham Riesman reflects on the legacy of his grandfather’s Israel advocacy and how he came to see the country differently (New York Magazine)
I don’t think my grandfather wanted to hurt Palestinians, but their concerns didn’t keep him up at night. For me, they do. They are part of my family too. And until they are safe, the Jews will not be. Israel and the Palestinians will not fix their problems without audacious solutions. Solutions as audacious as, say, the creation of a Jewish state 70-odd years ago.
This great piece by Caitlin Flanagan on her self-imposed Twitter hiatus (The Atlantic)
Twitter is a parasite that burrows deep into your brain, training you to respond to the constant social feedback of likes and retweets. That takes only a week or two. Human psychology is pathetically simple to manipulate. Once you’re hooked, the parasite becomes your master, and it changes the way you think. Even now, I’m dopesick, dying to go back.
This six-month investigation into the moments leading up to the January 6 Capitol riot, offering the most complete picture to date of what happened that day—and why (The New York Times)
It’s a 40-minute documentary, so no preview! Go watch it!
What I’m thinking about
How absolutely bonkers this place is going to be if England wins on Sunday.
Until next time,
Yasmeen