Notebooks

notebook

The rights and wrongs of self-defence

International law on self-defence has a long history, dating back to the ‘Caroline affair’ of 1837. In a new age of conflict, states are testing the limits of pre-emptive action.

Suzanne Raine June 30, 2025

notebook

How Iranians paid the price for Ali Khamenei’s hubris

The record of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, is catastrophic. His day of reckoning may finally have arrived.

Roham Alvandi June 27, 2025

notebook

The CRINKs’ quest for the bomb

North Korea's pursuit of nuclear proliferation provides a model for other rogue states.

Edward Howell June 26, 2025

notebook

The secrets of Erdogan’s staying power

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's enduring, pragmatic grasp of power has put Turkey in pole position to shape the future of a turbulent Middle East.

Hannah Lucinda Smith June 25, 2025

notebook

The battle for Syria isn’t over

As Israel eyes Damascus and Iran stirs unrest, can Syria avoid becoming the region's next battleground?

James Snell June 24, 2025

notebook

Lessons in the limits of airpower 

Airpower advocates have long claimed that modern wars can be won from above, rendering ground troops obsolete. But from NATO’s campaign in Kosovo to the US strikes on Iran, strateg..

Peter Caddick-Adams June 23, 2025

notebook

Kierkegaard’s philosophy of love

The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard believed that despair could be transformed into hope, under the influence of love, a message that resonates in an age of pessimism.

Zachary Hardman June 20, 2025

notebook

Hamstrung by history: the United Nations 80 years on

All are agreed that the UN is in desperate need of reform, but nobody can agree on what that should look like.

Keith Lowe June 19, 2025

notebook

How Iran’s grand strategy collapsed

Since 7 October 2023, the pillars of Iran's military doctrine have collapsed one by one, paving the way for Israel's lightning strike on the country's military facilities and the p..

Kasra Aarabi June 18, 2025