Foreign Affairs
A leader who loved Japan
How Shinzo Abe and his country resisted stagnation
Soft power superpower?
It’s easy to mock, but British influence is real — and a potent tool for good
The West’s Russia Crisis
Patrick Porter talks about the implications of invasion for the West
Australia first
What are we supposed to fight for in the Pacific? Is it for Australia or for the sake of US pre-eminence?
The noise before defeat
Even a good retreat would not have rescued a bad war
The Second Coming of George W. Bush
The public image of the 43rd President of the United States has undergone a surprising revival
Pet Mischief
In a serious country serious people would resign over Pen’s pets
The final humiliation
What happens if the Taliban gets it right?
Muzzled in Moscow
Drawing on the author’s experiences, the book’s effect is akin to having a long pub chat with a knowledgeable journo
The long arm of the Chekists
This book is an apt metaphor for the state of freedom of speech in modern Britain
The professional classes don’t understand manual work
They cannot understand distinctions between different kinds of labour
The warp and weft of women’s history
This synthesising project downplays the variety of experience amongst ancient women
How can we talk about male violence now?
Our discourse should be a lot more honest and a lot more serious
The town besieged
During the English Civil War, towns were fiercely divided
Embracing the quiet life
Keir Starmer takes a vow of public service and perpetual dogmatic silence
Why “buffer stocks” don’t work
Yet again, economists have failed to understand Smith
Ringo Starr
The man cruelly mocked as “not even the best drummer in The Beatles” must be the most underrated musician of all time
DEI is just good manners, really
Stripped of all its jargon, allyship is nothing more than old-fashioned gallantry
The mixed legacy of #MeToo
There is a difference between confronting male behaviour and recreational man-hating
World Government or Peoples’ Governments?
As the nation state system falters, we are faced with a choice between centre and periphery
Embrace your inner exile
How can we appreciate art in alienating times?
