Essays Archive

essays

Frank Kitson and the myth of the counter-insurgent

Frank Kitson was lauded for his prowess in counter-insurgency but those who celebrate his legacy should question whether his tactics ultimately exacerbated the violence he sought t..

Aaron Edwards March 4, 2024

essays

The paradox of liberal individualism

We are more at liberty to think, say and do what we want than ever before. Yet, we are also more controlled and constrained by the state than at any other time in history. Why?

James Vitali February 28, 2024

Mock-up of the air defense system around Moscow.

essays

Putin’s Russia is a nuclear outlaw

Russian nuclear doctrine has become nothing more than a rhetoric of intimidation.

Paul Josephson February 27, 2024

A Ukrainian soldier member walks through a neighbourhood destroyed by Russian missiles in Borodyanka, Ukraine, April 2022.

essays

Fearing Russia’s futures

Two years into Russia's fullscale invasion of Ukraine, the prospect of both Putin's victory and defeat invoke deep fears about the future of Russia.

Sergey Radchenko February 23, 2024

Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin at a summit in Canada, 1993.

essays

Russia, America and the roads not taken

After the Cold War, the United States squandered an opportunity to integrate Russia into Western economic and security partnerships. They continue to pay the price.

Vladislav Zubok February 20, 2024

StB interrogation room in the Museum of Communism in Prague.

essays

The Czechoslovak agent in the BBC who almost was

Terézia Javorská, a BBC World Service broadcaster, was recently exposed as a Communist spy by the British press. A careful examination of the archives of the Czechoslovak State Sec..

Daniela Richterova February 14, 2024

Palestinian youths carrying flags with an image of Marwan Barghouti.

essays

The fall and rise of Marwan Barghouti

Long regarded as a future leader of Palestine, Marwan Barghouti has been imprisoned in Israel since 2002. What would his release mean for the future of the Middle East?

Angus Reilly February 13, 2024

Isabelle Huppert in Madame Bovary directed by Claude Chabrol.

essays

The many meanings of the age of upheaval

Upheaval is a feature, not a bug, of humankind’s recent assumptions about progress and identity. It is a deeply felt aspect of the present era, but it is not uniquely of its time.

Alastair Benn February 12, 2024

An oil drilling platform off the eastern coast of Scotland, 1978.

essays

Britain’s energy transition in the shadow of the 1970s

As Britain confronts the challenges and opportunities of the transition away from fossil fuels, the deep history of its relationship with North Sea oil provides both guidance and w..

Colm Murphy February 8, 2024