Notebooks

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

Painting of the Romanian Army crossing the Danube to enter Dobrogea in 1878 by Henryk Dembitzky. Credit: The Picture Art Collection
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Romania’s long return to the West

While Romania's attitude towards NATO is primarily driven by a fear of Russian aggression, it is also shaped by the country's pride in its Latin heritage, and a long tradition of l..

Mara Balasa September 2, 2025
Pro-Iranian Hezbollah supporters commemorate Ashura in Beirut, Lebanon. 6 July, 2025.
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Hezbollah is running out of options

The Lebanese Government’s plan to disarm a militarily weakened Hezbollah revives the spectre of civil conflict. The stage is set for a battle between competing visions of Lebanon's..

John Raine September 2, 2025
The Christian Science Church, located in Springfield.
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Christian Science and the American Dream

Christian Science's remarkable history shows that, in America, orthodoxy of belief is less important than compatibility with the civic religion and ethnic, cultural, and economic a..

Elijah Granet September 1, 2025
Arab soldiers carrying the flag of the Independent Kingdom of Hejaz, during the Arab Revolt, in 1917.
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When Britain promised Arab independence

Britain's ambiguous support in 1915 for Arab national aspirations is a reminder that abstract promises, hastily made, can only generate discontent – a vital lesson for the current ..

James Barr August 28, 2025
A North Korean propaganda painting depicts North Korean dictator Kim Il Sung liberating his country during the Korean War
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The use and abuse of Korea’s past

Seventy-five years after the outbreak of the Korean War, competing accounts of the conflict continue to animate tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang.

Edward Howell August 27, 2025
The skyline of Turin, Italy, at dusk.
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Turin, the strange heart of modern Italy

Despite being the first capital of a united Italy, Turin does not feel remotely Italian. Yet the longer one wanders its streets, the more the city's powerful role in forging the mo..

Alexandra Wilson August 26, 2025
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How Europe can make Putin pay

Instead of ensnaring Trump in Alaska, Putin may have trapped himself. Now, European leaders must act quickly to convince the US President that he can tip the battlefield in Ukraine..

Peter Rough August 26, 2025
A mass protest in Tallinn, Estonia, against the 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact, on 23 August 1989. Credit: Associated Press
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Black Ribbon Day’s new urgency

Black Ribbon Day, which commemorates the millions of victims who suffered under Nazism and Stalinism, could serve as a poignant reminder of the dangers of totalitarianism.

Keith Lowe August 23, 2025
Nicolas Poussin's A Dance to the Music of Time. Circa 1635.
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A true history of the festival

The festival spirit is deeply rooted in Western culture. Modern people ignore its power at their peril.

Zachary Hardman August 22, 2025

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