Essays

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

Two American soldiers survey the ruins of Darmstadt

To avoid a dictatorship of scholars

Questions of accountability were at the heart of the European integration project, even before the devastating impetus of the Second World War.

Patricia Clavin June 4, 2021

Central Shanghai, China's commercial centre, in low cloud cover. Credit: Xu Feng / VCG via Getty Images.

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Future proof

Deference to history will not be enough to answer the geopolitical questions of the future. New systemic forces are in play.

Francis J. Gavin May 28, 2021

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg outside the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference, Idaho, US, July 2018

essays

What the Silicon Valley idealists got wrong

The internet and social media were supposed to democratise knowledge and unite the world. Things didn't quite turn out that way.

Nicholas Carr May 25, 2021

A hijacked commercial plane approaches the World Trade Center

essays

What should we do when the terrorists go quiet?

Western governments must wake up to the uncomfortable reality that when terrorists go quiet, they might be planning something big.

Suzanne Raine May 20, 2021

Pope Francis with his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City, in 2018. Credit: Massimo Wallichia / Getty Images.

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The crusader of good will

While no longer a state power, the Catholic Church remains a powerful political force in modern diplomacy.

Janne Haaland Matláry May 18, 2021

Civil disorder arising from animosity between university undergraduates and towns people (town v gown) as described in a Charles Dickens novel.

essays

Equality – what is it good for?

Modern society is history's most equal. But progress has not been linear – or easy to calculate.

Ian Mortimer May 12, 2021

A 19th century print of Confucius (c551-479 BC) visiting court. 19th century.

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Confucius, competition and modern China’s misuse of meritocracy

Ancient Chinese ideas on merit are being manipulated to block checks on power and venerate authoritarian governance.

Eleanor Olcott May 11, 2021

8th-century frescoes of Saints Benedict and Renato, Italy

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A garden of schizophrenics

How did our ancestors think? The written word provides crucial evidence of how language has shaped human consciousness.

Mariano Sigman May 5, 2021

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The endless frontier

American state investment in science is returning. But the threats of today – pandemics, climate change, China – will require bold political leadership as well as money.

Sharon Weinberger April 30, 2021