The Duck of Minerva

They clearly don’t think much of the Germans

by Dan Nexon

23 July 2008, 2327 EDT

Hasn’t it occurred to any of these idiots that adopting Nazi iconography and aesthetics is the last thing a US Presidential candidate would want to do to improve his popularity in Germany?

Unless he’s aiming for that all-important 14-25 East German demographic, half of whom apparently believe that “National Socialism had good sides” (meaning that the other half believed it had no positive qualities whatsoever, I might add).

As Haaretz reported:

A poll published Wednesday showed a quarter of Germans believe there were
at least some positive aspects to Nazi rule – a finding that comes after a popular talk show host was fired for praising Nazi Germany’s attitude toward motherhood.

Pollsters for the Forsa agency, commissioned by the weekly Stern magazine, asked whether National Socialism also had some good sides (such as) the construction of the highway system, the elimination of unemployment, the low criminality rate (and) the encouragement of the family.

Forsa said 25 percent responded yes – but 70 percent said no.

Somehow, though, I doubt the pro-Nazi imagery of half-African Barrack Obama will hold out much appeal to the NPD‘s supporters.

Next week: Obama borrows Quisling motifs for speech in Norway.

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Daniel H. Nexon is a Professor at Georgetown University, with a joint appointment in the Department of Government and the School of Foreign Service. His academic work focuses on international-relations theory, power politics, empires and hegemony, and international order. He has also written on the relationship between popular culture and world politics.

He has held fellowships at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation and at the Ohio State University's Mershon Center for International Studies. During 2009-2010 he worked in the U.S. Department of Defense as a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow. He was the lead editor of International Studies Quarterly from 2014-2018.

He is the author of The Struggle for Power in Early Modern Europe: Religious Conflict, Dynastic Empires, and International Change (Princeton University Press, 2009), which won the International Security Studies Section (ISSS) Best Book Award for 2010, and co-author of Exit from Hegemony: The Unraveling of the American Global Order (Oxford University Press, 2020). His articles have appeared in a lot of places. He is the founder of the The Duck of Minerva, and also blogs at Lawyers, Guns and Money.

Website |  + posts

Daniel H. Nexon is a Professor at Georgetown University, with a joint appointment in the Department of Government and the School of Foreign Service. His academic work focuses on international-relations theory, power politics, empires and hegemony, and international order. He has also written on the relationship between popular culture and world politics.

He has held fellowships at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation and at the Ohio State University's Mershon Center for International Studies. During 2009-2010 he worked in the U.S. Department of Defense as a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow. He was the lead editor of International Studies Quarterly from 2014-2018.

He is the author of The Struggle for Power in Early Modern Europe: Religious Conflict, Dynastic Empires, and International Change (Princeton University Press, 2009), which won the International Security Studies Section (ISSS) Best Book Award for 2010, and co-author of Exit from Hegemony: The Unraveling of the American Global Order (Oxford University Press, 2020). His articles have appeared in a lot of places. He is the founder of the The Duck of Minerva, and also blogs at Lawyers, Guns and Money.

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