Notebooks

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

The Scottish Parliament building in the snow from Salisbury Crags, Edinburgh.

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The strange death of Scotland’s political virtues

The Scottish elite has traded moral seriousness for the sugar rush of ‘progressive’ idealism.

Alastair Benn May 1, 2024

A commemorative stamp of Martin Niemöller

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Martin Niemöller’s stand against Hitler

The Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller's stand against the Nazis symbolises the power and bravery of citizens who resist dictatorship.

Elisabeth Braw April 29, 2024

Xi Jinping waves above a large portrait of the late leader Mao Zedong during a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

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The making of Xi Jinping, China’s absolute monarch

Xi Jinping may preach Marxism-Leninism with Chinese characteristics but a much older doctrine governs his actions: absolutism.

Michael Sheridan April 22, 2024

Aerial view of severe damage to homes caused by massive floods in the Irkutsk region of Russia, 2019.

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Russia: Nation of floods

Fires, floods and the melting permafrost amount to an ever-growing set of problems for Russia but Putin is too focussed on the war in Ukraine to confront the growing crisis.

Paul Josephson April 17, 2024

Fresco representing Jupiter's lover Leda and the swan on a wall of a spectacular banqueting room with elegant black walls, recently brought to light during the excavations currently underway at Pompeii.

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Mapping Pompeii’s undiscovered country

Archaeologists are steadily chipping away at the mysterious remaining third of Pompeii, which so far has remained hidden.

Daisy Dunn April 12, 2024

Michael Tanner in Old Court at Corpus Christi, Cambridge

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Michael Tanner, the complete critic

The music critic and philosopher Michael Tanner was a life-force. His work – profound, witty and full of glorious invective – was driven by a zest for ideas.

Richard Bratby April 10, 2024

President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a meeting of the G7 in Japan.

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Japan, AUKUS and the future of Western defence

The US, Britain and Australia are considering partnering with Japan in the AUKUS security pact, marking an important moment in the Japanese defence relationship with the West since..

William Reynolds April 10, 2024

Sunset at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.

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America must find its middle ground

Regardless of who wins the presidential election November, America likely will see new outbursts of protest, revealing a pessimism and anger that threatens to become the norm in Am..

Michael Auslin April 9, 2024

Painted shopping windows in front of Thomaskirche Church, Leipzig.

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The passion of Bach

On 7 April 1724, Johann Sebastian Bach led the first performance of his St John Passion, a monumental work that revolutionised liturgical music.

Elisabeth Braw April 5, 2024