Notebooks

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

A George Wallace campaign rally in 1968.

notebook

In the shadow of George Wallace: America’s third-party challenge

Rather than just being distractions or spoilers, the success of third-party candidates in presidential elections is revealing of underlying conditions and views in American history..

Luke A. Nichter March 6, 2024

A Swedish ship partakes in a naval exercise by Götland.

notebook

Sweden’s long and winding road to NATO

The Russian threat has put the Nordic states at the centre of global affairs. Sweden's accession to NATO is a natural consequence.

Magnus Christiansson March 1, 2024

Glow from a Russian rocket attack on Kharkiv

notebook

Despatch from Kharkiv

Beyond the city’s fragile bubble of normality, the fight rages on.

Jade McGlynn February 26, 2024

Memorial to the Maidan protestors who died by sniper fire.

notebook

Ukraine’s decade of war

The Ukrainian people have suffered a decade of conflict - when will the world wake up to the price to be paid for failing to deter Russian aggression?

Andrei Kurkov February 22, 2024

A performance of John Adams's opera Nixon in China.

notebook

Nixon’s dance with the chairman

In February 1972, President Richard Nixon landed in China for a meeting that would set the stage for over fifty years of both economic integration and political antagonism.

Elisabeth Braw February 21, 2024