In 1996 John Perry Barlow penned his ‘Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace’. The war between politicians and tech-idealists had just begun.
The collapse of the Soviet Union drew back the Iron Curtain, integrating Eastern Europe in the Western order. Although Russia remained out in the cold, this was not inevitable. For a brief moment in the nineties, a very different Europe was imagined.
Garibaldi’s retreat to his home in Caprera spawned a liberal-nationalist ideal of statesmanship that would live long in the European imagination.
Throughout history, technological change has operated within established geopolitical patterns. Today’s tech revolution is tipped to transcend those boundaries and transform international relations – but the reality may turn out to be more nuanced.
Is decay inevitable? Is democracy too unstable? The example of Ancient Athens shows us how delicate democratic institutions are.
What distinguishes spying in the service of a democracy from spying for a dictatorship? The rule of law and accountable institutions provide our security services with the critical ‘licence to operate’.
The elegance of Georgian architecture, best exemplified in Bath and Edinburgh, can inspire a modern Renaissance in British housing design.
Russian identity is shaped by its literature, perhaps more so than any other major world power. The arguments championed by its great authors resonate in the present.
When Jesuit missionaries arrived in Japan, they found a rich and beautiful culture – their early dialogues left deep marks on civilisation in Europe and in Asia.
One of the original conceptions of the United Nations Organization, and the 1925 Locarno Pact, show how leading states might think about diplomacy in the new age of great power competition.
Enduring debates about rights, freedom and individualism take us back to rival interpretations of what went on in the 1770s and 1780s.
Political, economic and cultural power is concentrated in a new national oligarchy that creates resentment. Responsible leadership, of the kind seen in the mid-20th century, is needed to repair the damage.
A land of promise, economic might, uncouth citizens and brutal slavery – there was no one image of America in 19th and early 20th century Britain.
George Blake, who died last month at the age of 98, was a Soviet double agent defined by his dangerous loyalty not to money, nor homeland, but to ideological principle.
The 19th century culminated in an extraordinary period of national jingoism as film, the popular press and photography inspired European nations to jockey for imperial dominance.
The First World War fundamentally altered our understanding of strategy – we should heed the insights of the era’s leading thinkers and generals.
Whenever societies sink into decadence and decline, the ever fascinating figure of the dandy is swift to emerge.
London’s response to its last plague epidemic involved close collaboration between crown, City and parish.
Russian ‘active measures’, including election meddling, disinformation and influence operations, were as common throughout the Cold War as they are today.
The technological sophistication of the modern state is no substitute for human intelligence gathering.
Espionage feeds off betrayal. And yet we find it difficult to love those who betray their country even in a just cause.
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