The Last Refuge of a Scoundrel Can meaning be extracted from a maelstrom?

I've started a Substack called The Sense of an Ending. First post: arthurgoldhammer356783.substack.com/p/the-last-r...

Arthur Goldhammer’s “Shooting War” Arthur Goldhammer’s brilliant novel Shooting War doesn’t have a subtitle, but if it did my recommendation would be “Coming of Age in the American Empire.”

Glyn Morgan reviews my novel "Shooting War." morganmorgan.substack.com/p/arthur-gol...

Bayrou Peters Out, Villepin Starts Up -- Bayrou's "Conclave" Ends Without Divine Intervention tocqueville21.com/art-goldhamm...

A debate has broken out among 3 potential French presidential candidates. tocqueville21.com/art-goldhamm...

The French Socialist Party sinks into the mire: tocqueville21.com/art-goldhamm...

tocqueville21.com/art-goldhamm...

Finally, French Studies and its Publics opens out from scholarship and mentoring and considers the stakes of public engagement and the migration of ideas and texts across the Atlantic. Intro by Sarah Griswold and essays that follow by Laura Frader, @artgoldhammer.bsky.social, and Eric Fassin.

The State and Expertise dossier features an intro by Ed Berenson and contributions from Evan Spritzer, Aro Velmet, Nicole Rudolph, and Phil Nord, all exploring the questions at the heart of Herrick's own scholarly work.

The issue comprises three thematic dossiers--on Herrick's mentoring, scholarship, and the role of the French Studies scholar. The first, The Politics of Mentorship, features an intro by @profmarylewis.bsky.social and essays by Elizabeth Campbell, Molly Nolan, Alice Conklin, and Emmanuelle Saada.

Thrilled to share this very special issue of French Politics, Culture & Society in honor of Herrick Chapman that I co-edited with Nicole Rudolph. The intro is open access: www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journal...

CFP: 250 Years of Franco-American Relations. Tocqueville Review Conference, AUP Paris, May 29-30, 2026 with @davidavrombell.bsky.social and Steve Sawyer
tocqueville21.com/blog-info/ca...

Wauquiez Goes For Broke in the Race to Lead the Not-So-Center French Right: tocqueville21.com/art-goldhamm...

What will Le Pen's conviction do to the 2027 French presidential race? tocqueville21.com/blog-info/le...

Concentrating the European Mind -- Europe after the clash in the Oval Office tocqueville21.com/art-goldhamm...

‘Free world needs a new leader’: Europe defends Zelenskyy after Trump attack France, Germany and Poland all make prompt declarations of support, as Europe fears Trump’s alignment with Putin.

🚨 BREAKING: European leaders rallied to defend Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance subjected him to a tirade of withering and infantilizing abuse in the Oval Office.

Full story:

Trump bullies Zelensky and throws the US into the arms of Putin: tocqueville21.com/art-goldhamm...

No more "Western alliance." The US has gone rogue. tocqueville21.com/art-goldhamm...

Bayrou Places His Bets - Tocqueville21 As I write, François Bayrou is still speaking to the Assemblée Nationale, and the deputies of La France Insoumise have not given up their disgraceful heckling, despite having failed to prevent him fro...

Bayrou places his bets, while the left heckles. tocqueville21.com/art-goldhamm...

Jean-Marie Le Pen, 1928-2025 - Tocqueville21 There are many rhythms in politics, in which, as the adage goes, "a week is a long time." Sometimes. At other times, a lifetime is not long enough. Jean-Marie Le Pen played a long--a very long--game. ...

A week is a long time in politics, but a lifetime may not be enough. tocqueville21.com/art-goldhamm...

GitHub - agoldhammer/docread: Command line utility for searching .docx and zipped .docx files using regular expressions Command line utility for searching .docx and zipped .docx files using regular expressions - agoldhammer/docread

github.com/agoldhammer/...

Ça ira … - Tocqueville21 The new government has just been announced, and I am rubbing my eyes in disbelief. Elisabeth Borne as no. 2? Retailleau still at Interior. Darmanin at Justice. Dati maintained at Culture. Valls (Valls...

Ça ira ... Macron adds insult to injury by doubling down on the status quo. And Bayrou has forfeited his independence.

tocqueville21.com/blog-info/ca...

Dead Center - Tocqueville21 Apparently, there will be no announcement of a new government this evening. François Bayrou has never been a man in a hurry. Unlike the president, who is always in a rush, Bayrou has been content to w...

Bayrou going nowhere fast. Dead Center: tocqueville21.com/art-goldhamm...

At long last, no longer the bridesmaid … maybe - Tocqueville21 After the now customary tergiversation, Emmanuel Macron has made his choice: François Bayrou. Bayrou, until now always the bridesmaid but never the bride, hadn't been able to cash on his sacrifice to ...

France has a new Prime Minister: tocqueville21.com/art-goldhamm...

Into the Unknown - Tocqueville21 Macron has spoken. He will not resign--no surprise there. Beyond that, he gave nothing away about his intentions, except to make it clear that he continues to believe in the possibility of a "republic...

Into the Unknown: France faces an uncertain future. tocqueville21.com/art-goldhamm...

The End of the Line for Barnier - Tocqueville21 Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly last June because he knew he would face a censure vote on the budget in the fall. He had hoped to wrong-foot the parties by beating them to the punch wi...

The Barnier government is about to fall: tocqueville21.com/art-goldhamm...

A graphic depiction helps make clear that Trump has no “mandate.” One of the narrowest popular vote wins in history.

La fin de la récréation: Le Pen Blows the Whistle - Tocqueville21 As the United States devolves into kakistocracy and Kiev trembles under the threat of massive Russian retaliation for the first use of long-range American and British missiles against Russian territor...

La fin de la récréation: Le Pen Blows the Whistle tocqueville21.com/art-goldhamm...

"In short, the election probably won’t end France’s agony. It will only prolong it, perhaps precipitating an even deeper crisis, since there will be no apparent exit other than a Macron resignation."

Spot on again, by @artgoldhammer.bsky.social.

Great reflection by @artgoldhammer.bsky.social on why Macron is so divisive.

Another way of putting it is that Macron is the first greenhouse-grown French president. All the others were purs produits du terroir.

Also agree: This is the first time French politics have been interesting since 2017.

State of the European Union pt 5:
La politique politicienne
tocqueville21.com/art-goldhamm...