Kelsey D. Atherton

In this September 1947 file photo, hundreds of Muslim refugees crowd on top a train leaving New Delhi for Pakistan.

State reformation: Part II

Critical State

Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive this week into the power and politics of collective memory when it comes to partitions. "If states told ghost stories, they would tell them of past partitions," Kelsey D. Atherton writes.

State reformation: Part II
A woman walks with a power plant in the background, in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, March 16, 2022. 

Ladder theory: Part II

Critical State
Ladder theory: Part II
In this Dec. 5, 2016, file photo, Syrian army soldiers fire their weapons during a battle with rebel fighters at the Ramouseh front line, east of Aleppo, Syria. 

Civil warcraft: Part II

Critical State
Civil warcraft: Part II
Chinese President Xi Jingping speaks during the opening session of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogues at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Monday, June 6, 2016. 

Archetypes of autocracy: Part I

Critical State
Archetypes of autocracy: Part I