Essays

Long-form writing from leading scholars and commentators on history, statecraft, warfare, philosophy and culture.

Israeli soldiers advance towards southern Lebanon near the northern Israeli village of Avivim in 2006.

The long war between Israel and Hizbollah

While international attention is still firmly focused on Israel's war in Gaza, its long confrontation with Hizbollah in Lebanon threatens to erupt into further destructive conflict..

Ahron Bregman April 18, 2024

Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden at Victoria Station in London to meet Marshal Nikolai Bulganin (left), chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, and Nikita Krushchev, First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party.

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Reappraising NATO, 1956 style

Debates in 1956, triggered by British attempts to reappraise NATO strategy in Europe, echo in the present.

Gill Bennett April 16, 2024

Rembrandt's 'Portrait of a Scholar, 1631.'

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An early modern guide to information overload

The sense of being overwhelmed and constantly distracted is nothing new. Historians and policymakers should look to the 17th century for guidance on how to grapple with information..

Iskander Rehman April 11, 2024

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The age of gerontocracy is nothing new

The fear of a gerontocracy – the dominance of politics by old men – as well as an appreciation of the benefits of geriatric wisdom, both found favour in the ancient world.

Erica Benner April 9, 2024

Sudan People's Liberation Army soldiers drive toward frontline positions near Pana Kuach in South Sudan on Friday May 11, 2012.

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Inside Sudan’s forever war

There seems to be no end in sight to the conflict in Sudan, a war largely overlooked in the West.

Richard Cockett April 2, 2024

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The salvation of Spinoza

Spinoza’s idea of Jesus was caricatured by the Marquis de Sade in his libertine novel Juliette. But the Jewish philosopher's insights into the nature of Christ's love deserve more ..

David Lloyd Dusenbury March 28, 2024

Recep Tayyip Erdogan leaves a meeting at No. 10 Downing Street, 2019.

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Erdogan prepares to leave the stage

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent revelation that he is planning his exit from office raises the difficult questions of succession that all ageing leaders must eventu..

Hannah Lucinda Smith March 26, 2024