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The World in Fall: Foreign Interference and the Defence of Liberal Europe
Description
When does political disagreement become a struggle to destroy the conditions that make disagreement possible?
Samuel Woodall explores The World in Fall, bringing intellectual history into conversation with international relations. Following his work on Britain, Russia and Ukraine, he examines how domestic extremism and authoritarian interference can reinforce one another, and why the distinction between party and faction still matters.
The episode considers Russian influence operations and financial relationships, the US intelligence assessment of Iranian intervention around Gaza protests, reporting on China-linked networks, and scholarship on authoritarian power. It distinguishes documented connections from allegations and inference: convergence does not require common command, and foreign amplification does not establish that a state organised a protest.
The conclusion argues for a liberal, democratic Europe and for keeping alive the freedoms of inquiry, toleration and restraints on arbitrary power to which the Enlightenment gave enduring force.
Read the paper and full references:
https://theintellectualhistorian.com/2026/10/22/the-world-in-fall/
Beyond the Text | Samuel Woodall
https://beyondthetext.co.uk
https://theintellectualhistorian.com
Music: Queens Arrival — Red Planet (TakeTones).