essays
Ancient lessons for modern crisis
The Covid-19 pandemic signals a long period of global instability.
Lawrence Freedman
June 26, 2020
Essays
Long-form writing from leading scholars and commentators on history, statecraft, warfare, philosophy and culture.
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essays
Crisis and the creation of great art
Social upheaval has often been a catalyst for artistic change - the Renaissance was no exception.
Andrew Graham-Dixon
June 25, 2020
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essays
Counting the cost of the 1918-19 pandemic
The influenza pandemic behaved much like the conflict itself - picking out the young and fit before their time.
Hew Strachan
June 24, 2020
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essays
The empty metropolis
Ghost town London had its harbingers in literature and history. How will it emerge from its isolation?
Tom Holland
June 23, 2020
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essays
Welcome to Engelsberg Ideas
Engelsberg Ideas is a new home for great writing and podcasts on history and culture, featuring leading writers and thinkers.
Mattias Hessérus & Iain Martin
June 23, 2020
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essays
Geopolitics of a pandemic
The Covid-19 crisis has accentuated all the geopolitical fault lines of the past decade.
Helen Thompson
June 23, 2020
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essays
The polymath in the age of specialisation
Crises of knowledge precipitate drives towards specialisation. In our digital age we still need polymaths.
Peter Burke
June 22, 2020
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essays
Dealing with the past – a Russian history
In modern Russia, the past is being rewritten to suit Vladimir Putin's script.
Gudrun Persson
June 21, 2020
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essays
Fantasy in Middle Eastern nation-making
There is frequently no real reason why one person has more claim to live or even rule over a piece of land than another. A reason, however, must be provided and it can often be fou..
Nathan Shachar
June 20, 2020