Notebooks

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The end of the Atlanticist Era

European leaders shouldn’t be surprised that the United States is reverting to its isolationist type. Despite this tendency, the Atlanticist Era has lasted for longer than anyone e..

Robert Lyman March 3, 2025

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The revolt of Germany’s working class

Germany's workers are turning to the radical right because they feel alienated by the internationalist ethos and welfare policies of their country's ruling classes, as the recent s..

Katja Hoyer February 28, 2025

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The transatlantic alliance is fractured, not broken

Despite the severe strains that are being placed on the transatlantic alliance by the Trump Administration, Europe and the United States are bound by economic and security ties tha..

George Magnus February 27, 2025

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The art of Éric Rohmer

The filmmaker Éric Rohmer never sought a mass audience: he wanted to reach those thoughtful, sensitive people to whom poetry, art and serious music play an integral role in life, a..

Jaspreet Singh Boparai February 26, 2025

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A tale of two Congos

Despite their geographical proximity and deep historical ties, the Democratic Republic of Congo and its sibling, the Republic of Congo, have travelled along divergent political and..

Mpiti Mosothoane February 26, 2025

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Charles Lamb’s literary alter ego

This year marks the 250th anniversary of Charles Lamb’s birth, providing an opportune time to take stock of his finest work — his strikingly original essays.

Malcolm Forbes February 24, 2025

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The 18th century way of war

At a time of increasing autocratic tendencies and heightened great-power competition, the 18th century provides important lessons from an age when it was normal for states to annex..

Adam L. Storring February 24, 2025

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England’s unusual individualism

The individualist strain in English culture was a contingent, precarious, and exceedingly unusual thing.

Samuel Rubinstein February 21, 2025

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The beginning of the end for the Cambridge Five

The Cambridge Five have achieved a near-mythical status in the history of espionage. Yet their story is about a bygone age whose ideological struggles no longer resonate with the s..

Dan Lomas February 21, 2025