Notebooks

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

Pro-Russian mural in Donetsk, occupied Ukraine.

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Surviving Russia’s surveillance state

Russia's sophisticated system of repression in occupied Ukraine must force resistance to adapt.

Jade McGlynn May 21, 2026

A post-war advert for the Chelsea Flower Show in Punch Magazine.

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The peculiar magic of the English garden

The Chelsea Flower Show, with its blend of horticultural excellence and barely controlled chaos, captures something eccentric and loveable about the English garden.

Daisy Dunn May 19, 2026

Scene of the Battle of Hastings, depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry. Credit: isogood

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The Bayeux Tapestry and the quest for Europe

From Napoleon to the Nazis, Europe's would-be masters have sought to harness the power of the medieval masterpiece.

Caitlin Allen May 18, 2026

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In defence of distraction

The smartphone inherits anxieties about distraction that have haunted every new technology.

Alastair Benn May 18, 2026

Merlion Park, a famous Singapore landmark.

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The Chinese threat to Singapore

Singapore's success story was built on the promise that globalisation, economic integration and the rules-based order would endure indefinitely.

Alexander Still May 15, 2026

United States President Bill Clinton negotiates with Russian President Boris Yeltsin at a summit in Vancouver, in April 1993.

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How Clinton brought Russia to the table

In the early 1990s, President Clinton drew on US diplomatic and financial power, deft diplomacy, and deep regional expertise to bring about a Russian withdrawal from the Baltic Sta..

Andris Banka and Alexander Noyes May 14, 2026

A map of Syria and Lebanon from the 1930s.

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Syria’s political destiny

Throughout its history, the Syrian state has been viewed by Arab nationalists, Baathists and Islamists alike as a stepping stone towards a grander political destiny.

Asser Khattab May 13, 2026