Notebooks

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

Palestinian refugees wave flags and hold pictures of the leader of the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Beirut.

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Two assassinations and a region on the brink

The Middle East teeters on the brink of wider conflict as Israeli assassinations in Beirut and Tehran intensify the complex, multi-pronged war between Israel, Iran and their allies..

Afshon Ostovar August 1, 2024

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How to reform the House of Lords without really trying

Rather than playing around with grand plans to removed aged and hereditary peers, the House of Lords would best be reformed by a simple reduction in the number of its members.

Clive Aslet July 31, 2024

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Why on earth do actors become novelists?

The last few years have seen an explosion of actors seeking to demonstrate their literary credentials by writing novels. They would be better to stick to the day job.

Alexander Larman July 30, 2024

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Russia returns to Svalbard

Over 25 years after leaving Svalbard, the Russians have returned to the Norwegian archipelago to reclaim their perceived Soviet-era glory.

Elisabeth Braw July 29, 2024

Kamala Harris addresses the Munich Security Conference.

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Kamala Harris and the empty language of international order

There is little that can be deciphered about Kamala Harris' views on foreign policy because she speaks with a carefully cultivated language of American exceptionalism and internati..

Angus Reilly July 26, 2024

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The Olympic moment

Paris 2024 is a global mega-event. But its success was never assured.

Lincoln Allison July 26, 2024

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On Hilary Mantel and not meeting famous authors

It's strange that, like the sentence you can’t get right, there are those people who, fatally, you want to impress, yet everything comes out wrong.

Katharine Grant July 24, 2024

Ursula von der Leyen speaks to the European Parliament as she seeks a second term as president of the Commission, 18 July 2024.

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The European Union’s coming ideological crisis

Despite the success of populist parties in the 2024 European elections, the leadership of the EU remains in the hands of the establishment parties of Christian and social democrats..

Luka Ivan Jukic July 23, 2024

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The philosophical genius of P.G. Wodehouse

Although P.G. Wodehouse's books were comical, they were far from frivolous. He displays a deep appreciation of serious philosophical questions around human agency, fate and the exi..

William Fear July 22, 2024