Notebooks

Notebooks are snapshots from our writers, reflecting on current affairs and underappreciated aspects of culture and history.

Marilin Vinent holds a photo of her son Dannys Castillo with other Cubans in Russia. Vinent said that her son travelled to Russia after being promised work in a construction job but that he was one of the Cubans recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine. Credit: Ramon Espinosa

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The trafficking networks sustaining Russia’s war of attrition

As Putin seeks to avoid another politically damaging mobilisation, the temptation to draw on Moscow's extensive global trafficking networks will only grow.

Munira Mustaffa November 13, 2025

The Timor-Leste flag being installed at ASEAN.

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Why Timor-Leste joined ASEAN

With the entry of Timor-Leste, ASEAN has gained a tiny new democracy to join its diverse grouping of one-party states, absolute monarchies and military juntas.

Imran Shamsunahar November 11, 2025

View of the Martyrs Bridge and Niger River in Bamako, Mali. Credit: Thomas Cockrem

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The perils of a jihadist state in Africa

The militants on the brink of toppling Mali's junta are affiliated with Al Qaeda. But their original grievances have distinct geographic and cultural elements rooted in a deeper pa..

Tim Marshall November 10, 2025

The children's choir at Kungsholmen Church in Stockholm.

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A community of choirs

Western countries seeking to combat the modern ills of loneliness, social fragmentation and political polarisation can learn from their Scandinavian ally's remarkable choral tradit..

Elisabeth Braw November 5, 2025

Yitzhak Rabin shakes hands with Yasser Arafat on the South Lawn of the White House following the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993.

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How the Oslo Accords unravelled

The assassination in 1995 of Yitzhak Rabin was a watershed moment in the gradual disintegration of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, paving the way for greater bloodshed in th..

Colin Shindler November 4, 2025

The Awakening of the Arts by Frans Floris (c. 1560).

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AI against the arts

Artificial Intelligence must not be weaponised to downgrade ideas of artistic excellence founded on human genius, elitism and meritocracy.

Alexandra Wilson November 3, 2025

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What China wants from Europe

China's activities in Europe are driven more by opportunism than any grand plot to divide the continent. In geopolitical terms, Beijing treats European countries as extensions of A..

John Delury October 31, 2025

Handscroll painting of the 'Night Parade of One Hundred Demons', a Japanese folk belief.

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Japan’s time of spirits

Tsukumogami are beings that arise when ordinary objects gain a spirit of their own. Their moral message? Treat your possessions well.

Christopher Harding October 30, 2025

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Britain’s elite needs a history lesson

At a time of crisis at home and conflict abroad, it is vital that the UK's political and media class have an historically informed understanding of their country and its institutio..

Alastair Benn October 29, 2025