Essays

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

Recent burned and deforested area within Jamanxim National Forest. Amazon Rainforest - Pará / Brazil
essays

Untold knowledge: the price of deforestation

The destruction of rainforests threatens valuable cultures and reams of possible medical innovations.

Mark Plotkin August 17, 2020
Carving Up The World A satrirical cartoon by James Gillray, showing British Prime Minister William Pitt and the French leader Napoleon Bonaparte, carving up the world between them. Entitled 'The Plumb Pudding in Danger' - pub. 26th February 1805
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Why the nation beat the empire in the battle of 19th century ideas

A history of the 19th century tells not just of newly-formed nations, but of newly-developing nationalism.

Jeremy Jennings August 14, 2020
japanese men eating
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From miracles to massacres – Japan’s tumultuous 20th century

As Japan moved away from isolation, it entered a period of rapid change and development.

Lars Vargö August 13, 2020
Augustine
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The City of God: on Augustine’s vision of Empire

Augustine's seminal book was written in the context of the Roman Empire, but it remains ever-relevant.

Gillian Clark August 12, 2020
Gustavus Adolphus II
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Do we know the truth about the Thirty Years’ War?

Different perspectives and eye-witness accounts reveal historical fallacies and myths about the war.

Dick Harrison August 12, 2020
sweden
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The third way: How different is the Swedish model?

Swedish exceptionalism stems from the country's unique experience of 19th and 20th century economic change.

Lars Magnusson August 11, 2020
NASA, ESA, H. Teplitz and M. Rafelski (IPAC/Caltech), A. Koekemoer (STScI), R. Windhorst (Arizona State University), and Z. Levay (STScI) / Public domain
essays

What is the purpose of existence?

The scientific view of the universe as essentially mindless belies its purpose and direction.

John Haught August 11, 2020
Petrified fossil starfishes and trilobites
essays

Does evolution have a moral or spiritual dimension?

The progress of evolution is not as random as it appears - it has a distinct direction and purpose.

Robert Wright August 10, 2020
Diwali celebrations on the streets of Southall, London, 1st November 1984. Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, lasts for five days
essays

The many meanings of culture

'Multiculturalism' has become a buzzword for our times, but more lies beneath this ideal of harmonious coexistence.

Adam Kuper August 10, 2020

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