Essays

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

The Freedom is Our Religion banner in Maidan Square, Kyiv.
essays

The price of freedom

The arc of history only bends towards justice when people of goodwill grab hold of it and wrench it in the direction of justice.

Kori Schake February 14, 2023
A busy stacking room in the opium factory at Patna, India.
essays

Bengal Opium: a study in continuity

The drug has long been regarded in India as a blessing rather than a curse, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that Indian government production of this ‘gift to the world’ continues tod..

Nic Allen February 10, 2023
The 'You are leaving The American Sector' sign at the Checkpoint Charlie crossing point, Berlin Wall.
essays

How a Second Cold War could have been averted

The choice to enlarge NATO was a justifiable response to the geopolitics of the 1990s. The problem was how it happened.

Mary Elise Sarotte February 7, 2023
Polish soldiers armed with Beryl assault rifles.
essays

The new Warsaw Pact

Poland is taking on a leadership role in Europe. The combination of Russian threats, western European passivity and Anglo-American support has paved the way for an eastern regional..

Timothy Less February 3, 2023
The Vessel at Hudson Yards, New York City. Credit: robertharding / Alamy Stock Photo.
essays

Bringing beauty back to the city

Cities have been reduced to centres of soulless materialism and their citizens to non-stop consumers. If we hope to create beautiful surroundings, a rethink is required.

Anne Fairfax January 31, 2023
Anna Cassel
essays

Who created The Paintings for the Temple?

The idea that the seminal series, The Paintings for the Temple, was the creation of Hilma af Klint alone should be abandoned. It was a project of collaboration between several wome..

Hedvig Martin January 26, 2023
View of a military parade in Whitehall during the eighteenth century.
essays

Trust is the key to geopolitical strength

Geopolitical trust is intrinsic to the making and breaking of states on the international scene.

Brendan Simms January 26, 2023
Demonstrators on the streets of Cairo, Egypt. Credit: Jake Lyell / Alamy Stock Photo.
essays

The Arab Awakening: when the dream met reality

The Middle East and North Africa's transition from authoritarianism to democracy has been slow and painful, with both hopeful gains as well as worrisome setbacks.

Benedetta Berti January 24, 2023
View of the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin, Moscow. Credit: Nikolay Vinokurov / Alamy Stock Photo.
essays

Is there hope for Russia after Putin?

Quite how and when Vladimir Putin will lose power is unclear, but the inevitable event will offer Russia another opportunity to break with its Soviet past.

Mark Galeotti January 20, 2023

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