This is a weekly thread for people to discuss international news, foreign policy or IR history. I usually start off with coverage of some current events from a mix of countries I follow personally and countries I think the forum lives in or might be interested in. Feel free as well to drop in with coverage of countries you’re interested in, talk about ongoing dynamics like the wars in Israel or Ukraine, or even just whatever you’re reading.
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Why are you called The Motte?
A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently,
it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey",
originally identified by
philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial
but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens
this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for
the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired
propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."
On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.
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Notes -
Spain
Last week I reported on Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez finally securing another term through allying with the Catalan independence party Junts by offering amnesty for their illegal referendum. This is an unpopular move even among left wing voters and he may come to regret the alliance very soon. Puigemont, leader of Junts, has already threatened to withdraw his support and offer it to the conservatives if Sanchez does not take steps towards Catalan independence.
Is this a serious threat? The center right PP would only be able to hold a majority, even with Junts, if they worked with the far right Vox, a nationalist party literally created as a backlash to the Catalan independence referendum. Vox was so desparate to unseat the socialists that they promised to support a PP government even if they didn’t get any ministerial posts, but working together with their sworn enemy is surely a bridge too far (and presumably the same is true for Junts voters as well). So no, likely there is no actual coalition that could form a government, but things could be forced to another election, where the left wing parties would do worse, ironically partially because they’re kowtowing to Catalan demands at all. Sanchez’ rule is and will likely continue to be a very unstable one (and I do imagine he will probably hold onto power, only weakly so).
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