Essays Archive

A woodcut of a scene from Virgil's Georgics.

essays

What Hamnet owes to Virgil’s Georgics

Maggie O’Farrell’s 'Hamnet' and its 2025 film adaptation draw extensively on Virgil’s 'Georgics', showing how the classical tradition continues to illuminate enduring human questio..

Orlando Gibbs April 6, 2026

'The Garden of Eden with the Creation of Eve' by Jan Brueghel the Younger.

essays

The virtues of vegetarianism

Long before modern debates over diet, early Christians questioned whether abstaining from meat signaled true piety.

John Merrington April 3, 2026

Vice President Richard Nixon discusses his trip to the Far East with President Dwight D. Eisenhower. 3 November, 1953.

essays

Eisenhower’s lessons in alliance management

During the 1950s, US strategy in East Asia displayed a judicious combination of flexibility and realism, crafting a security order acceptable to America's allies, while avoiding co..

Mary S. Barton and James Graham Wilson April 1, 2026

A sunset view of Istanbul from Galata Bridge.

essays

Istanbul’s descent into darkness

Years of political repression and creeping urban decay have hollowed out the city's soul, designing dissent out of its once-vibrant streets and erasing its rich cosmopolitan past f..

Hannah Lucinda Smith March 30, 2026

A coloured illustration of Castle Howard.

essays

The great imagination of John Vanbrugh

How did a playwright with no formal training design some of Britain’s grandest buildings?

Guy Stagg March 26, 2026

'The Last of the Mohicans.' Oil on canvas by Thomas Cole, c. 1827.

essays

The Last of the Mohicans and the American soul

Set during the drama of the French and Indian War, James Fenimore Cooper’s epic tale of survival, love and vengeance captures the many contradictions at the heart of America's nati..

Alec Marsh March 26, 2026

essays

The Iran war through Asia’s eyes

In the face of the Iran war’s impact on global oil flows, Asian capitals are reassessing energy security and the broader geopolitical map.

Christopher Harding March 25, 2026

George Kennan, the American diplomat and historian.

essays

Kennan’s realistic approach to Washington’s Africa strategy

Revisiting George Kennan’s writings offers an alternative lens for understanding Washington’s contemporary approach to great-power competition in Africa.

Sam Wilkins March 24, 2026

An American Eagle standing on guard over the Western Hemisphere. Political Cartoon from 1904.

essays

How to navigate global disorder

In the 21st century, the post-Enlightenment ‘civilisational state’ may become the ideological model for aspiring great powers.

Aaron McKeil March 23, 2026