Essays

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

A billboard with an image of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is surrounded by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) flags as supporters gather to celebrate election results outside the BJP headquarters in Mumbai in 2019
essays

The fake history of civilisational states

So-called civilisational states, including Russia, China and India, invoke fake histories to justify and buttress their contemporary political settlements. But those who cannot let..

Christopher Coker September 27, 2021
The Marine Corps War Memorial, also known as Iwo Jima Memorial.
essays

Geopolitics never went away for the United States

For the United States, geopolitics has always been about national identity, even in an era of globalisation. Perhaps it always will be.

Andrew Preston September 22, 2021
A member of staff removes a file from a depository at The National Archives, London. Credit: Scott Barbour/Getty Images
essays

The intelligent use of history — what is the past good for?

In times of global uncertainty and upheaval, many people look back to an imaginary golden age of simplicity and stability, or seek to blame a past individual or policy for current ..

Gill Bennett September 20, 2021
A protester attempts to cover the Hong Kong emblem with a British colonial flag after they broke into the government headquarters in Hong Kong in June 2019, the 22nd anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China.
essays

The flag wars are here to stay

Flags have become synonymous with nationhood, character, spirit, and power. In an age of renewed nationalism, their power should not be underestimated.

Tim Marshall September 17, 2021
The Iris Gardens by Hiroshige, 1857 . Credit: Picturenow/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
essays

The aesthetic harmony of Japanese nature

In Japanese culture, nature is more than simply the natural world: it is an aesthetic, ethical, and sacred concept.

Elisabet Yanagisawa Avén September 11, 2021
Bowood Park, Wiltshire, home of the Marquess of Lansdowne, c1880. Wood-engraved plates after paintings by Benjamin Fawcett and Alexander Francis Lydon.
essays

How Arcadia was won and lost and found again

Arcadianism is so deep-rooted in the British national psyche. Everyone wants their own slice of Arcadia. But if everyone gets one, how much will be left?

Clive Aslet September 9, 2021
US Army tank drives along a road in Iraq
essays

Unipolar America: another imperial delusion ends

Modern America has followed a generic pattern set by triumphant dynasties of the past, from the Ming Dynasty to Achaemenid Persia. History shows hubris creates the conditions for d..

Patrick Porter September 3, 2021
Four Cambridge students ride a four seat tandem bike on the campus wearing mortarboards and gowns.
essays

Meritocracy v the people

The biggest division in modern society is between the meritocracy and the people, the cognitive elite and the masses, the exam-passers and the exam-flunkers.

Adrian Wooldridge August 31, 2021
Photograph of a flying saucer
essays

It came from outer space

Far from being a throw-away genre trope, the unresolved puzzle of extra-terrestrial visitors gives us unique insights into the nature of thought, communication and memory.

Tim Jenkins August 27, 2021

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