Notebooks

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The myth of Icelandic insularity

As Icelanders prepare to vote on resuming EU talks, the island's elites have spent centuries managing external influence to their advantage.

Matthías Aron Ólafsson July 11, 2026

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Recording Japan’s disabled lives

Ten years after the Sagamihara killings, the worst act of violence against disabled people in modern history, Japan's attitudes to disability are slowly changing.

Christopher Harding July 10, 2026

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People versus Parliament: a warning from the 18th century

The radical John Wilkes was expelled from the Commons and returned by his constituents again and again. The appeal over Parliament's head to the people is a very old manoeuvre.

Ioannes Chountis de Fabbri July 9, 2026

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The good, the bad, and the ugly of the Monroe Doctrine

For over three quarters of the nation's lifespan, the Monroe Doctrine has uniquely captured the American mind, for better or worse.

Joseph Ledford July 9, 2026

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A lost world of perfect diction

A 1970 documentary on Virginia Woolf gathers a cast of talking heads, Elizabeth Bowen among them, who speak with an eloquence and clarity that have almost disappeared.

Paul Lay July 8, 2026

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Hans Aarsleff and the uses of error

The intellectual legacy of the Danish-born scholar shows that 'error' is a good word in the historian's lexicon.

Samuel Rubinstein July 6, 2026

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The Democrats’ narrow path back to power

The president's party almost always loses the midterms. The interesting question is what comes next. Can the Democrats resist the leftward lurch that cost them in 1972?

Luke A. Nichter July 6, 2026

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Ivy Compton-Burnett’s forgotten genius

Ivy Compton-Burnett's unique novels have slipped out of the canon, but this true one-off deserves a place alongside contemporaries such as Evelyn Waugh.

Nigel Andrew July 3, 2026

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Australia needs a tragic statesman

Throughout Australian history, few leaders have understood geopolitical tragedy. The optimism-bias of the 'lucky country' leaves it ill-equipped to deal with an increasingly volati..

Iain MacGillivray July 2, 2026