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The quest for an American honours system
The United States has never developed a comprehensive system of awards for merit - why?
Elijah Granet
May 2, 2025
Notebooks
Notebooks are snapshots from our writers, reflecting on current affairs and underappreciated aspects of culture and history.
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Southeast Asia – between Trump and China
As the trade war between the United States and China intensifies, Southeast Asian countries will encounter increasing pressure to align with either Washington or Beijing.
Imran Shamsunahar
April 30, 2025
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The historical power of Jan Matejko’s painting
Prussian Homage captures a golden moment in Polish history. Matejko's painting was not just a powerful weapon in the fight to recover his nation's statehood, it was also a lesson i..
Mateusz Strozynski
April 29, 2025
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The art of the hedgerow
The hedgerow is never truly permanent. The hedge in art reflects the hedge in reality, a shifting entity, a feature that is sometimes lost and sometimes replaced.
Richard Negus
April 28, 2025
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The medieval origins of the Pope lying-in-state
The public display of a pope’s remains is at the heart of the funeral ritual. Its origins lie in the pomp and prestige expected of late medieval Europe's most powerful institutions..
Katherine Harvey
April 25, 2025
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Why China is winning the geopolitical battle in Africa
Sino-African relations are fraught with problems and power imbalances. But American disinterest in the continent’s problems has allowed China to emerge as a reliable, if imperfect,..
Mpiti Mosothoane
April 25, 2025
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A leisurely guide to a spiritual life
Leisure is an attitude of receptive contemplation, the source, according to the ancient Greeks, of our intellectual and spiritual knowledge. It's time to rediscover its true meanin..
Zachary Hardman
April 23, 2025
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Trump the caudillo
Despite his apparent disdain for Latin America, President Trump's political style and strongman tendencies are the recognisable product of a wider, pan-American political culture w..
Andreas Campomar
April 22, 2025
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The revolutionary meaning of Maundy Thursday
The ritual of the pedilavium communicates as vividly as anything the fundamental nature of Christ, and what is perpetually revolutionary and challenging about the Christian message..
Bijan Omrani
April 17, 2025