essays
The power of sloth
Recovering the lost meaning of sloth challenges modern assumptions about the good life.
Elise Morrison
February 26, 2026
Essays
Long-form writing from leading scholars and commentators on history, statecraft, warfare, philosophy and culture.
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essays
Ukraine’s new world of warfare
On the battlefields of Ukraine, technological change has transformed modern warfare beyond recognition. European NATO powers remain woefully unprepared for this existential challen..
Peter Caddick-Adams
February 25, 2026
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essays
Kafka goes to China
The journey of Franz Kafka’s works from Europe to Mao-era China shaped generations of writers.
Jeffrey Wasserstrom
February 20, 2026
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essays
The Greenland question
Donald Trump's aggressive bid for Greenland has amplified the island's long drive for self-rule, while illuminating the complex ties that bind Copenhagen, Washington and Nuuk.
Elizabeth Buchanan
February 19, 2026
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essays
Russia’s Arctic game
President Putin sees Greenland as a testing ground for his vision of a world divided into spheres of influence, in which the United States and Russia set the rules of the game and ..
Sergey Radchenko
February 18, 2026
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essays
Europe: a great power in the making
Surrounded by an unreliable United States, a belligerent Russia, an assertive China, and a rising India, European statesmen face a timeless truth: to resist competitors, they must ..
Dimitar Bechev
February 13, 2026
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essays
New START, new nuclear threat
With the expiration of the arms agreement between Washington and Moscow, the world faces a new era of nuclear competition.
Owen Matthews
February 11, 2026
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essays
The aristocratic ambassadors who won America over
Lord Lothian, followed by Lord Halifax, led the British Embassy in Washington during the early years of the Second World War. Securing US support for Britain, they set the standard..
Tim Bouverie
February 10, 2026
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essays
Edward Gibbon’s empire
Edward Gibbon’s 'The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' was published 250 years ago. Its arguments remain as pertinent as ever.
Sumantra Maitra
February 10, 2026