Notebooks

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When the Samurai came to America

The Tokugawa shogun's 1860 embassy to the United States offers tantalising hints of a road not travelled in the story of Japan’s relationship with the West.

Christopher Harding February 22, 2023

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NATO is back

As it looks to the future the essential intergovernmental security alliance should draw inspiration from its founding.

Luke Coffey February 17, 2023

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How early EVs were overtaken by macho petrol heads

The first electric vehicles were cheaper, simpler, more reliable and cleaner than their petrol-powered rivals. Electricity should have been the winner in the early twentieth centur..

Bryan Appleyard February 17, 2023

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José Saramago was the master of reinvention

This great writer and inveterate political renegade deserves to be better known outside his native Portugal.

Gerald Malone February 9, 2023

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Disraeli and the Rothschilds provide a study in the power of political patronage

The diaries of Charlotte de Rothschild show, through her relationship with Mary Anne Disraeli, the complex emotional ties between politicians and their financiers.

Suzanne Raine February 3, 2023

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German resistance to sending Leopards will be long remembered

The meeting at Ramstein revealed divisions and disappointed supporters of Ukraine.

Mick Ryan January 22, 2023

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Slave-owning was democracy’s original sin

Slavery has proved to be an endless moral and philosophical problem for democracies throughout history.

Erica Benner January 20, 2023

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Russia’s quest for polar power

The Arctic is the country’s number one regional resource; the West’s strategic planners must be ready for the challenge.

Andrew Monaghan January 11, 2023

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Napoleon’s trouble on the home front

Building an empire is easier than constructing a dynasty. The famous French leader was bedevilled by unintelligent and uncooperative family members.

Katherine Bayford January 4, 2023