Notebooks

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

The signing of the European Convention on Human Rights in Rome, 4 November 1950.
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Internationalism’s moral fallacies

Many internationalists believe that undermining national authority is a moral virtue. Yet international law is founded upon national agency, and cannot be sustained without the goo..

Robert Lyman June 4, 2025
Soviet poster of Leonid Brezhnev with collective farm combine-harvester drivers.
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The rise of the gerontocrats

The Soviet gerontocracy are an inspiration to ageing autocrats everywhere.

Paul Josephson June 4, 2025
Soldiers of an unmanned aerial platoon of the 113th Battalion of Ukraine’s 110th Territorial Defence Brigade launch a Vampire heavy bomber drone in Zaporizhzhia.
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Ukraine, the future of war is now

Ukraine’s strikes into Russia illustrate the historic role of surprise in battlefield success. They also test the country's fragile relationship with the fractious leadership of th..

Aaron MacLean June 3, 2025
A Ukrainian drone strikes planes deep in Russian territory.
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Ukraine’s deep strike

To execute its audacious drone attack deep in Russian territory, Ukrainian intelligence correctly identified the Russian air force’s true centre of gravity – its drone- and missile..

Peter Caddick-Adams June 2, 2025
Fan vaulting in Canterbury Cathedral.
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Alasdair MacIntyre’s philosophy for a new dark age

The message of the late philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre resonates with those seeking a way through the noise of modern culture.

Christopher Akers May 30, 2025
The 1946 poster for the Cannes film festival.
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The Cannes film festival is not a pretty view

The selection at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival holds up a mirror to a world in crisis.

Agnès Poirier May 22, 2025
Vanessa Redgrave as Mrs Dalloway.
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Mrs Dalloway’s war wounds

In her masterpiece, Mrs Dalloway, Virginia Woolf skewered the tendency to deny the truths that cause grief, a lesson that resonates in the post-Covid era.

Lizzie Hibbert May 22, 2025
Donald Trump speaking at a rally.
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The high price of Trump’s energy

America, perhaps more than most nations, values displays of energy in its presidents.

Jenny McCartney May 21, 2025
US General Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969) inspecting troops.
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Eisenhower’s vision of European security

In 1945, American leaders prevented Europe from being overrun by the Red Army. Their strategic thinking provides a vital perspective on the current debate about US military presenc..

Moritz S. Graefrath May 20, 2025

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