Essays

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

turner burning of house of lords and commons
essays

The eighteenth-century technological awakening of artist adventurers

The spirit of innovation embodied by the first Industrial Revolution spread to all aspects of British life — art was no exception.

Andrew Wilton July 28, 2022
Tocqueville 1848
essays

Binding order and liberty: Tocqueville the politician

Tocqueville may not have been an effective foreign minister but his commitment to order and liberty is uncontested.

Samuel Gregg July 27, 2022
Dolly The Sheep The First Cloned Mammal Exhibit At The National Museum of Edinburgh. Credit: Norman Pogson / Alamy Stock Photo.
essays

From Saartjie Baartman to Dolly the Sheep: what does genetic integrity mean?

The notion of integrity evolves with each generation. When it comes to how the idea is applied to genetics, it is worth starting to consider the moral implications of future medica..

Lynn Åkesson July 22, 2022
Vladimir Putin and Boris Yeltsin, 2004. Credit: REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo.
essays

Ukraine and Russia: how closeness turned into war

How did the relatively amicable relations of Russia and Ukraine in the 1990s dissolve into today's brutal conflict?

David R. Marples July 19, 2022
the Antikythera Mechanism
essays

Ancient creations: from the Antikythera Mechanism to Western music

The ancient Greeks are often perceived to have been hostile to technological innovation. But from the remarkable Antikythera Mechanism to the foundations of Western music, ancient ..

Armand D'Angour July 14, 2022
Autostadt of the Volkswagen AG, Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany.
essays

The Germans and their cars: history of a love affair

German car making is nearly as old as the nation itself and embedded in its heart, soul and mind. Replacing combustion engines with batteries is not a like-for-like swap. We are ab..

Katja Hoyer July 12, 2022
A Kawasaki P1 Maritime patrol aircraft, with the Japanese Self Defence Force (JSDF) flies over Sakura or cherry blossom in a park in Tsuruma, Kanagawa. Credit: Damon Coulter / Alamy Stock Photo.
essays

Hostile neighbours and a parallel path: why Japan and Germany are rearming

Much like Germany, Japan is also undergoing a begrudging reconciliation with its military. But unlike its European counterpart, Japan has to worry about two increasingly hostile ne..

Christopher Harding July 7, 2022
An overview of Pavlograd coal processing plant in Donbas. Credit: VINCENT MUNDY / Alamy Stock Photo.
essays

Putin bets the Russia house on the Donbas rustbelt

By 1991, the Donbas, the former core of the Russian Empire’s coal, iron and metallurgical industries, was in large part Europe’s biggest rust-belt. For Russia, the benefits of anne..

Dominic Lieven July 7, 2022
Terror attack
essays

Keeping it simple: how technology shapes the terror threat

Evolving technology consistently introduces new possibilities for both the attacker and defender. The more inventive terrorists became, the more defensive measures needed to be put..

Suzanne Raine July 5, 2022

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