Past and Present

The transcript discusses Francis Lieber, a Prussian lawyer who played a pivotal role in codifying the laws of war through the Lieber Code during the American Civil War. It highlights the challenges Lieber faced in defining 'civil war' legally, a task that had not been previously formalized. The discussion draws parallels between the historical context of the 1863 Civil War and modern debates over conflicts like the Iraq War, emphasizing the ongoing complexity of defining civil war in legal and media contexts.

How did the concept of civil war evolve in legal terms during the 1863 conflict?

What parallels can be drawn between the civil war discussions in 1863 and the debates about Iraq in the 2000s?