Essays Archive

The production line of the Vickers-Armstrong Wellington, a twin-engined, long-range medium bomber.

essays

The fourth arm of defence

Britain’s interwar rearmament shows that military strength depends as much on industrial and economic strategy as on sheer spending.

Duncan Weldon January 28, 2026

Cartoon of Russia, published by London's Hodder and Stoughton in 1869. Credit: JJs

essays

Russia’s imperial overstretch

As a vast, economically challenged and multi-ethnic polity, the Russian state is chronically overstretched. Its struggle to establish equilibrium points towards hegemonic decline.

Daniel Peris January 21, 2026

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a ceremony marking the sixth anniversary of the death of Qassem Soleimani in Tehran, on 3 January 2026.

essays

Is the Islamic Republic on borrowed time?

The troubled history of the Arab Spring sheds light on the fate of Iran’s uprising. It explains why the Islamic Republic continues to survive waves of mass protest, yet may ultimat..

Shiraz Maher January 20, 2026

David Lloyd George and other members of the British delegation outside the Palazzo Reale at Genoa with other Allied leaders, 1922.

essays

Genoa 1922: a postwar reset that went wrong

The Conference of Genoa, 1922, promised the rebirth of a continent in ruins. Its failure offers a timely warning.

Oliver Yule-Smith January 16, 2026

A statue of Sir Thomas Raffles in Singapore.

essays

The invention of Singapore

In the early 19th century, Britain’s Thomas Stamford Raffles fused Enlightenment pragmatism, free trade, and secular education to create the foundations of modern Singapore.

Nic Allen January 16, 2026

The armies of the United States and the Republic of Mexico at the Battle of Buena Vista, 22-23 February 1847.

essays

The two Americas

Since the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, relations between the United States and Latin America have oscillated between cooperation and conflict, reflecting deeper tensions over competing..

Damian Valdez January 14, 2026

The British Army of the Rhine preparing simulated battlefield plans in preparation for a potential confrontation with the Soviet Union (1986).

essays

Michael Quinlan and Europe’s forgotten nuclear wisdom

Restoring credible deterrence for a new nuclear age should begin with the ‘intellectual rearmament’ of European statesmen and officials, in the tradition of Michael Quinlan, Britai..

Daniel Skeffington January 12, 2026

A Venezuelan living in Madrid celebrates the arrest of Nicolas Maduro at a gathering in Puerta del Sol. Credit: Marcos del Mazo

essays

Trump’s bid for hemispheric supremacy

The decisive military action in Venezuela leaves much uncertainty over whether Washington’s attempt at regime change can defy recent history. Yet analogies drawn from the experienc..

Joseph Ledford January 9, 2026

A Japanese painting depicts Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, receiving feudal lords. Credit: ART collection

essays

A global history of power

From Kyoto to Constantinople, political structures reveal that legitimacy rarely rests on power alone. It is sustained by the careful interplay of law, tradition, and performance.

Ioannes Chountis de Fabbri January 9, 2026