Essays

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

Students dressed in ancient clothes stand in front of the statue of Confucius
essays

The strong armed philosophy of the Chinese state isn’t new

The roots of modern China lie in ancient philosophical notions of the all-powerful leader and an obedient citizenry.

Roel Sterckx April 9, 2021
Belvedere Castle, Vienna
essays

Austria: nation, state or empire?

Studying the evolution of Austria in the 20th century offers deep insight into essential Western political categories.

Martina Winkelhofer-Thyri April 7, 2021
Asaro mud men from Goroka walk to the annual sing-sing cultural festival in Mount Hagen in 2004. Over 70 tribes put aside their ethnic tensions to come together once a year in the remote frontier town to celebrate the cultural diversity of Papua New Guinea.
essays

The dark side to loving a group

Acts of extreme self-sacrifice – such as suicide bombing – are not aberrations. They tell us something about our deepest instincts for group loyalty.

Harvey Whitehouse April 1, 2021
An Arcadian painting of the Alpine peaks by Giuseppe Camino (1818-1890). Credit: DeAgostini / Getty Images.
essays

Towards an Arcadian future

Humanity’s relationship with nature is under threat. Rather than abandoning it to the wild, however, we must embrace the age-old idea of Arcadia – and reform our stewardship of the..

Kim Wilkie April 1, 2021
Two young women in veils enjoy a hamburger
essays

A little history of the modern Middle East

The current violence and turmoil in the Middle East is expressive of a conflict between rival ideas, between the modern nation state and an old, historical concept of an Islamic ca..

Simon Mayall March 26, 2021
Aerial view of the ex-saltpetre site at Humberstone, near Pozo Almonte in the Tarapaca Region, some 800 km north of Santiago.
essays

The world that saltpetre built

Humberstone in Chile, now a ghost town, was once the centre of the saltpetre industry, a chemical compound useful for gunpowder and fertiliser. Its changing fortunes offer a parabl..

John Darlington March 23, 2021
A painting of the government listening station GCHQ displayed at the 'A Year with MI6' exhibition at the Mount Street Gallery, London. Credit: Macdiarmid/Getty Images
essays

Five Eyes: the past, present and future of the world’s key intelligence alliance

The Five Eyes network represents one of the closest partnerships between nation states in history - how did it come into being? And what explains its remarkable durability?

David Gioe, Michael Goodman & David Schaefer March 18, 2021
Prometheus sculpture on the Ahun mountain, Sochi, Russia.
essays

Why human agency matters

We live in an age that is deeply pessimistic about the human condition. But the retreat from human exceptionalism makes for both bad science and bad politics.

Kenan Malik March 16, 2021
Couples waltz during the 1994 Vienna Opera Ball
essays

The transformation of Mitteleuropa

In the decade following the fall of the Wall, Vienna went from Cold War staging post to modern European capital and change swept the entire region.

Richard Bassett March 12, 2021

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