David J Rovinsky
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davidrovinsky.bsky.social
David J Rovinsky
@davidrovinsky.bsky.social
200 followers 620 following 82 posts
Former diplomat, current political scientist, born in Pennsylvania, adopted Vermonter. Secretary of the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States. https://southof45.substack.com/
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davidrovinsky.bsky.social
Belgium and Canada offer a sharp comparison: two bilingual federations managing territorial vs personality language regimes, economic imbalances, and autonomist pressures.
#CanPol #Canada #Quebec #Flanders #Belgium #Federalism #ComparativePolitics #Bilingualism
southof45.substack.com/p/twin-feder...
Twin Federations: Canada and Belgium, Bilingual States in Permanent Negotiation
Belgium is the world's most elaborate exercise in territorial linguistic federalism; Canada is the world's most ambitious experiment in nationwide individual bilingual rights.
southof45.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:31 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
They once shaped Canadian conservatism.

Now their ideas fuel Alberta autonomy and separatism.

The West rose — but not the way they imagined.

#Alberta #Canada #Calgary #canpol #abpol #conservatism

southof45.substack.com/p/the-calgar...
The Calgary School at 30: From National Influencers to Alberta Radicals
Presented to the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States Biennial Conference
southof45.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 6:25 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
Section 33 was supposed to be rare. Now it’s routine and it can't be fixed. Ottawa still has a constitutional lever.
#cdnpoli #constitution #charter #federalism #publicpolicy #canada #CanadianStudies

southof45.substack.com/p/stopping-t...
Stopping the Populist Wildfire: How to Limit the Notwithstanding Clause
Section 33 is not the problem. Constitutional architecture is the problem. Canada must restore the sequence the override was meant to preserve.
southof45.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:53 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
Vermont imports income, goods, and access while exporting graduates, purchasing power, and passengers. Independence disappears the moment the flow stops.

southof45.substack.com/p/vermont-is...

@sevendaysvt.bsky.social #mynbc5-wptz @wcax.com @vermontpublic.org
Vermont Is An Interface Economy
Vermont imports income, goods, and access while exporting graduates, purchasing power, and passengers. Independence disappears the moment the flow stops.
southof45.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:20 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
Vermont looks independent because its dependencies are invisible.

We import the income, the goods and the access.

We export graduates, purchasing power, and passengers.
Vermont is an interface economy.

southof45.substack.com/p/vermont-is...

#Vermont #economics #population #NewEngland
Vermont Is An Interface Economy
Vermont imports income, goods, and access while exporting graduates, purchasing power, and passengers. Independence disappears the moment the flow stops.
southof45.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:32 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
Canada’s provinces are discovering a new governing strategy: When the courts might say no, use the notwithstanding clause. Federalism was supposed to protect democracy.

#cdnpoli #Federalism #Charter #NotwithstandingClause

southof45.substack.com/p/federalism...
Federalism in an Era of Populism, Part II: The Notwithstanding Clause and the Rise of Subnational Authoritarianism
Federalism is not always a guardrail against authoritarianism. It can also be an accelerant.
southof45.substack.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:23 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
When provinces start acting like nations, and states like moral republics, the federal spirit fades.

southof45.substack.com/p/federalism...

#Federalism #Populism #Canada #UnitedStates #Québerta
Federalism under Populist Stress
In the populist 2020s, federalism has become an ambiguous inheritance. Federalism is proving to be both the shield that protects democracy and the instrument that divides it.
southof45.substack.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:17 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
This is the kind of baseball that turns young kids into lifelong fans, so of course it's happening at 1 am on a school night. #mlb #baseball #WorldSeries #BlueJays
October 28, 2025 at 4:58 AM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
A new papacy arrives just as American Christianity drifts deepest into politics. The election of Leo XIV signals a Church reclaiming its universality against the gospel of nationhood, reminding the faithful that borders are human inventions not divine design.

southof45.substack.com/p/theology-a...
Theology as Subtweet: Leo XIV and Christian Nationalism
Where Christian nationalism craves divine endorsement for a single people, Catholic doctrine extends it outward, indiscriminately, to all.
southof45.substack.com
October 21, 2025 at 4:02 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
François Legault voulait faire l’histoire. Il l’a improvisée.

La nouvelle « constitution » du Québec ne couronne pas quarante ans de réflexion : elle les banalise.

southof45.substack.com/p/la-constit...
La « Constitution » improvisée de Legault trivialise l'exil intérieur du Québec
Legault et Jolin-Barrette confondent le symbolisme et la souveraineté
southof45.substack.com
October 14, 2025 at 2:43 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
François Legault wanted to make history. Instead, he improvised it.

Quebec’s new “constitution” isn’t the culmination of forty years of reflection — it trivializes them.

#Canada #Quebec #canpol #qcpol #Constitution

southof45.substack.com/p/legaults-i...
Legault’s Improvised “Constitution” Trivializes Quebec’s Internal Exile
Legault and Jolin-Barette mistake symbolism for sovereignty
southof45.substack.com
October 14, 2025 at 2:42 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
Mark Carney’s minority government faces the impossible task of governing a country caught between austerity, populism, and a protectionist White House. How Canada tries to hold its balance while Trump burns North America down.

southof45.substack.com/p/governing-...
Governing in the Maelstrom
Canada’s relative calm masks three deeper tremors: the deficit, federalism, and the United States.
southof45.substack.com
October 9, 2025 at 2:31 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
Are we entering a new Dark Age? Not ignorance, but squander: a world where knowledge survives, yet universality dies. Tech oligarchs as Medicis, universities in decline, and a society where brilliance is wasted.

#history #politics #universities #DarkAges

southof45.substack.com/p/will-the-d...
Will the Dark Ages Repeat?
The cycle in the West that began with the Renaissance is ending.
southof45.substack.com
October 1, 2025 at 5:13 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
Populists offer candy. Liberals offer spinach. Guess which one the id craves? #FreudAndPolitics #DemocracyInDanger #Authoritarianism

southof45.substack.com/p/my-id-beat...
My Id Beats Your Enlightenment
Biden’s age offends more voters than Trump’s authoritarianism. Why? Because politics today is id vs. intellect, and the id is winning.
southof45.substack.com
September 25, 2025 at 2:29 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
#CFL
September 23, 2025 at 10:44 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
They reek of desperation, not confidence. Fix the level of play.

southof45.substack.com/p/cfl-rule-c...
CFL Rule Changes Miss the Real Problem
They reek of desperation, not confidence. Fix the level of play.
southof45.substack.com
September 23, 2025 at 5:42 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
If I had my way, we would pay to use social media.

southof45.substack.com/p/this-essay...
This Essay Is (Part of) The Problem
If I had my way, we would pay to use social media.
southof45.substack.com
September 16, 2025 at 6:12 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
Pandemics never end when the sickness subsides. Democracies remain captive to the unfinished business of COVID-19.

southof45.substack.com/p/the-pandem...
The Pandemic’s Long Tail: Why the Politics of the 2020s Cannot Escape COVID-19
Pandemics never end when the sickness subsides. Democracies remain captive to the unfinished business of COVID-19
southof45.substack.com
September 12, 2025 at 1:18 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
Economics furnishes the substance, culture supplies the heat.

southof45.substack.com/p/is-western...
Is Western Alienation About Oil or Identity?
Economics furnishes the substance, culture supplies the heat.
southof45.substack.com
September 8, 2025 at 5:14 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
Trump agitates against Brazil not because it threatens American interests, but because its voters elect the “wrong” leaders.

southof45.substack.com/p/brazilian-...
Brazilian Democracy and Trumpist Grievance
Trump agitates against Brazil not because it threatens American interests, but because its voters elect the “wrong” leaders.
southof45.substack.com
September 2, 2025 at 1:32 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
For over two centuries, Americans have dreamed of annexing Canada. What’s changed is that today’s annexationism isn’t about borders or strategy, but about erasing Canada’s democracy.

southof45.substack.com/p/the-changi...
The Changing Logic of Annexing Canada: From Manifest Destiny to Culture War
For over two centuries, Americans have dreamed of annexing Canada. What’s changed is that today’s annexationism isn’t about borders or strategy, but about erasing Canada’s democracy.
southof45.substack.com
August 18, 2025 at 2:36 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
It is not about territory. It is about legitimacy. In MAGA’s America, Canada’s democratic political choices are so repugnant that the answer is absorption.

southof45.substack.com/p/culture-wa...
Culture-War Annexationism: Why Joe Martin Sees Canada as the Battleground
It is not about territory. It is about legitimacy. In MAGA’s America, Canada’s democratic political choices are so repugnant that the answer is absorption.
southof45.substack.com
August 16, 2025 at 9:31 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
For François Legault and the CAQ, the lights are fading.

southof45.substack.com/p/la-fin-du-...
August 13, 2025 at 2:14 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
Mark Carney’s approach does not resurrect the Third Option branding, but in substance it is unmistakably a descendant of Mitchell Sharp’s strategy.

southof45.substack.com/p/did-trump-...
Did Trump Vindicate the Third Option?
Mark Carney’s approach does not resurrect the Third Option branding, but in substance it is unmistakably a descendant of Sharp’s strategy.
southof45.substack.com
August 11, 2025 at 2:27 PM
davidrovinsky.bsky.social
The most important question in Canadian domestic politics today is whether the United States will recover from Trump. Nothing fundamental can change until the volcano next door stops erupting.

southof45.substack.com/p/waiting-fo...
Waiting for America: Canada in the Age of MAGA
The most important question in Canadian domestic politics today is whether the United States will recover from Trump. Nothing fundamental can change until the volcano next door stops erupting.
southof45.substack.com
August 5, 2025 at 4:59 PM