Zain Abotiheen
Archive3 writings2 categoriesUpdated Jul 2026

Writing

In a perfect world, I would be either a writer or a standup comedian. In this world, I enjoy writing as a hobby. It is the most satisfying and elegant form of expression

BooksJuly 27, 20264 min read

On what made Abraham Lincoln special

Recently, I finished the book Team of Rivals. It is a remarkable book that goes in depth about the political life of Abraham Lincoln and his colleagues and rivals.

I got to know more about him, life in America around that time, and political figures such as William Seward, Edward Bates, Salmon Chase, and Edwin Stanton. I also got to know about the personal lives of each of them, including, of course, Abraham Lincoln.

The book gave me great detail about the Civil War, its battles, and, most importantly, the intricacies of political life and managing the war.

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EssaysJuly 27, 2026

Possessive Individualism, Neoliberalism, and the Crisis of Contemporary Liberal Democracy

The Introduction to Political Science class was one of the best and most interesting classes I came across during my university experience. At the beginning, I thought that I would learn about how to be a politician or how to run for mayor. I was surprised to see a theoretical course asking some deep questions.

What is a state?

Where does legitimacy come from?

If there is one takeaway from this class that I would want to share with the world, it is that our modern understanding of the state, democracy, politics, and everything else is nothing but a framework thought of and built by people just like me and you. It seems to be working for now, which is why it is adopted everywhere.

13 min read

2026