Essays

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

Cave of Plato, Jan Saenredam, Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem, 1604.

Leadership in crisis – why the West needs Plato more than ever

The Victorians saw Plato's Republic as an indispensable guide to reform of the public sphere - we should follow their lead.

Adrian Wooldridge September 1, 2020

Thought-Forms -Fig. 30. At a Shipwreck. Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater - Wiki Creative Commons

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After Hilma af Klint: the influence of Theosophy on contemporary art

Over a century after its inception, the central tenets of Theosophy continue to resurface in art created today.

Marco Pasi August 28, 2020

TOPSHOT - A member of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) raises the victory gesture

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Can warfare ever be considered modern?

Even with all its data and technology, contemporary conflict fits uneasily with our definitions of modernity.

Rob Johnson August 27, 2020

British Prime Minister Tony Blair greets an ethnic Albanian by holding up his hand in central Pristina, Yugoslavia during a one-day visit Saturday July 31, 1999. It was Blair's first visit to Kosovo since NATO's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia. (Photo by David Brauchli)

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The restless search for fun wars

The West, more specifically the United States, with its major allies alongside it, has been chasing the 'fun wars' for 40 years and serially coming up empty.

David J Betz August 26, 2020

Stone relief from the palace of Ashurbanipal

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The ancient roots of the modern holy war

The crusades, jihad, and wars in defence of intangible ideals all have their origins in a short-lived conflict in the 6th century BC.

Tom Holland August 25, 2020

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Adam Smith: the first anti-capitalist?

Many of the tensions in modern capitalism can be traced back to difficulties found within Adam Smith's writings.

Emma Rothschild August 24, 2020

Mount Bromo (Gunung Bromo) seen at dawn on 11th June 2018, East Java, Indonesia. The active volcano is park of the Bromo Tengger National Park, sitting on a plain called the sea of sand, it is possible to look into the crater of the volcano to see the smoke and steam emerging from it, lava is not visible. (photo by Phil Clarke Hill/In Pictures via Getty Images)

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Spirit-lands and tyrant-kings: differing tales of statehood

Land is the silent, steady, partner in the messy realm of politics and national divides.

Jessica Frazier August 21, 2020

A terre, une jeune femme lors de la manifestation étudiante contre la guerre au Vietnam, à Stockholm, Suède le 1 avril 1968.

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Sweden’s swinging sixties

1968 was a radical moment in Sweden's post-war history; to deride it as a failed revolution is to miss much of its influence.

Kim Salomon August 19, 2020

U.S. Marines with machine guns ready, watch for enemy snipers on a street in Hue on February 7th. Allied dive bombers and U.S. warships bombarded a Communist suicide battalion in Hue's walled fortress on February 15th, and American Marines and south Vietnam black panther troops charged into the flaming ruins to wipe out the Viet Cong.Getty Images

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The human need for war

Like literature, history, and religion, war is a 'cultural enhancer' - and its modern manifestation in video games continues to shape society.

Christopher Coker August 18, 2020