Notebooks

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Eastern European success is no happy accident

The reception of Bulgaria's Eurovision win shows how western assumptions still cannot accommodate success in Eastern Europe.

Juliette Bretan June 4, 2026

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Simon Schama’s unflinching eye

Essential reading, viewing, and listening from the EI editors.

Paul Lay June 3, 2026

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The ghosts of Ukraine’s past

President Zelensky's awarding of state honours to a Ukrainian nationalist has angered politicians across Poland, a crucial ally in the war effort.

Owen Matthews June 3, 2026

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Why Turkey’s opposition is losing the culture war

The embattled Turkish Republican People's Party – the inheritors of Atatürk's legacy – must confront a difficult lesson from their country's recent past: that the state can only be..

Halil Karaveli June 1, 2026

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The case against AI: writing isn’t meant to be easy

The encroachment of AI into literature is catastrophic for writers, not because of how bad its outputs are or how unoriginal it makes us, but because of what it does to the practic..

Alexander Lee June 1, 2026

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The risks and rewards of Vietnam’s strongman era

While Vietnam's political system appears to be moving closer to a Chinese model, the country has also exploited opportunities to build stronger economic ties with the United States..

Imran Shamsunahar May 29, 2026

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The new bibliomaniacs

Rare book collecting is booming. Young people raised in the digital age are seeking tangible connections to the past.

Kristine Roome May 28, 2026

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Has Iran won the war by not losing?

Iran's survival strategy has leveraged a form of warfare grounded in geo-economic calculation.

Ibrahim Al-Marashi and Tanya Goudsouzian May 27, 2026

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Cannes and the language of exile

The 2026 edition of the Cannes film festival suggests that Europe’s defining cultural figure may no longer be a rooted national artist but a divided intellectual speaking in severa..

Agnès Poirier May 23, 2026