The ‘good slut’ and the question of the good life What passes for sexual freedom in contemporary culture is often a retreat from moral judgment.

What passes for sexual freedom in contemporary culture is often a retreat from moral judgment.

The ‘good slut’ and the question of the good life | @tiffanyjenkins.bsky.social

engelsbergideas.com/reviews/the-...

Borneo gains a new prominence in Malaysia's political landscape The fracturing of politics in Peninsular Malaysia has shattered the Malay-Muslim ascendancy that shaped the country.

The fracturing of politics in Peninsular Malaysia has shattered the Malay-Muslim ascendancy that shaped the country.

Borneo gains a new prominence in Malaysia’s political landscape | Imran Shamsunahar (@asiaanalyst47.bsky.social)

engelsbergideas.com/essays/borne...

The making of modern science Any history of the West's scientific revolution must explain how science generates new discoveries and ways of thinking about the natural world. Social-constructivist approaches have failed to provide...

Any history of the West's scientific revolution must explain how science generates new discoveries. Social-constructivist approaches have failed to provide a convincing account.

The making of modern science | David Wootton

engelsbergideas.com/reviews/the-...

I loved writing this piece about one of the most influential but least appreciated women in British history!

How to wage economic warfare Economic warfare works slowly, gradually imposing ever higher costs on the enemy. But there is no single trick that causes an adversary's war effort to falter.

Economic warfare works slowly, gradually imposing ever higher costs on the enemy. But there is no single trick that causes an adversary's war effort to falter.

How to wage economic warfare | @duncanweldon.bsky.social

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Athens and Sparta's epic struggle for supremacy The rival city-states were radically different expressions of a wider Classical Greek world, with each representing a divergent – and competing – experiment in how to organise human societies during w...

Athens and Sparta’s epic struggle for supremacy | Adrian Goldsworthy

engelsbergideas.com/essays/athen...

The anatomy of the spy novel From the gung-ho glamour of Ian Fleming’s James Bond to the decline and disorder of Mick Herron’s Slow Horses, postwar spy novels have captured the shifting myths, legends and caricatures surrounding ...

🎧Audio essay: The anatomy of the spy novel

From the gung-ho glamour of Ian Fleming’s James Bond to the disorder of Mick Herron’s Slow Horses, postwar spy novels have tried to capture the shifting myths surrounding the secret world.

audioboom.com/posts/889283...

'Ultimately, the summit was most significant for its political diversity. The fierce debates between delegates proved that the future of the postcolonial world was not set in stone.'

In my latest for EI, I explore how debates and disagreements gave the Bandung Conference a lasting political power.

Bandung and the birth of non-alignment In 1955, leaders from Asia and Africa convened to assert their independence from superpower blocs, sowing the seeds of the Non-Aligned Movement.

In 1955, leaders from Asia and Africa convened to assert their independence from superpower blocs, sowing the seeds of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Bandung and the birth of non-alignment | Alex White

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Iran targets its diaspora As the Islamic Republic faces crisis at home, it seeks to assert tighter control over an increasingly vocal Iranian diaspora in the West.

As the Islamic Republic faces crisis at home, it seeks to assert tighter control over an increasingly vocal Iranian diaspora in the West.

Iran targets its diaspora | Kasra Aarabi & Saeid Golkar

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/ira...

Hitler’s architect of illusions Hitler’s chief architect, Albert Speer, cultivated his image as the 'good Nazi' as a calculated reinvention of his role in the Third Reich.

Hitler’s chief architect, Albert Speer, cultivated an image as the 'good Nazi' – a calculated reinvention of his role in the Third Reich.

Hitler’s architect of illusions |
@mortenhoijensen.bsky.social

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Why Israel is losing America By refusing to bring his wars to a close, Benjamin Netanyahu is placing the vital partnership between the United States and Israel in grave peril.

By refusing to bring his wars to a close, Benjamin Netanyahu is placing the vital partnership between the United States and Israel in grave peril.

Why Israel is losing America | @mpolymer1.bsky.social

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/why...

How Communism conquered China The Chinese Communist Party defeated its rivals because it was a formidably effective political organisation that captured the hearts and minds of China's elites.

How Communism conquered China | Clark Aoqi Wu

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The unravelling of Indonesia's middleman economy Indonesia built an economy rooted in mercantile trade, leaving it vulnerable in a world that increasingly cuts out the middleman. Yet it may be too late to become a nation of makers instead.

Indonesia built an economy rooted in mercantile trade, leaving it vulnerable in a world that increasingly cuts out the middleman. Yet it may be too late to become a nation of makers instead.

The unravelling of Indonesia’s middleman economy | Rayhan Prabu

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...

Can the United Nations survive? Eighty years since its creation, the UN is struggling to compete in an ever more fragmented geopolitical landscape, in which rival organisations present a fundamental challenge to its mission and auth...

Eighty years since its creation, the UN is struggling to compete in an ever more fragmented geopolitical landscape.

Can the United Nations survive? | Peter Caddick-Adams

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Eglantyne Jebb and the birth of Save the Children A controversial figure in her own age, the founder of Save the Children overcame arrest and prosecution to establish what is now the world’s leading independent development agency for the young.

A controversial figure in her own age, the philanthropist and campaigner overcame arrest and prosecution to establish what is now the world’s leading charity for the young.

Eglantyne Jebb and the birth of Save the Children | Clare Mulley

engelsbergideas.com/portraits/eg...

The lost art of statecraft The great European statesmen of the 19th century understood that diplomacy is a fine art, which requires a cultivated mind and the courage to cross narrow disciplinary boundaries.

The great European statesmen of the 19th century understood that diplomacy is a fine art, which requires a cultivated mind and the courage to cross narrow disciplinary boundaries.

The lost art of statecraft | @chountisdefabbri.bsky.social

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From tulip mania to opium, the global trade in plants has shaped wealth, power and everyday life for centuries.

The plants that made the modern world | @amwilson.bsky.social

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JD Vance’s hope for a Hungarian Europe The US Vice President views Viktor Orbán’s Hungary as a key battleground in his quest for an alternative civilisational order in Europe, as well as a vital test for his vision of a Eurocentric America.

The US Vice President views Viktor Orbán’s Hungary as a key battleground in his quest for an alternative civilisational order in Europe, as well as a vital test for his vision of a Eurocentric America.

JD Vance’s hope for a Hungarian Europe | Sumantra Maitra

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/jd-...

Hope for Iran's democratic future endures The assumption that war has strengthened hardliners should be questioned. A lasting ceasefire and economic respite following the conflict could yet give Iran's civil society space to rebuild.

The assumption that war has strengthened Iran's hardliners should be questioned. A lasting ceasefire and economic respite following the conflict could give the country's civil society space to rebuild.

Hope for Iran’s democratic future endures | Maryam Alemzadeh

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/hop...

🎧The EI Podcast: Washington’s return to Latin America

Joseph Ledford, Fellow at the Hoover Institution, speaks to EI’s Jack Dickens about a new age of US interventionism in Latin America.

audioboom.com/posts/888515...

The Eichmann trial changed the world The trial of the Nazi bureaucrat Adolf Eichmann in 1961 was a pivotal moment in the history of the young Israeli state, allowing a collective outpouring of grief over the horrors of the Holocaust.

The trial of the Nazi bureaucrat Adolf Eichmann in 1961 was a pivotal moment in the history of the young Israeli state, allowing a collective outpouring of grief over the horrors of the Holocaust.

The Eichmann trial changed the world | Keith Lowe

engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-e...

A Jewish-American dream The largest Jewish community in the world is defined by its deep integration into the US national story, longstanding liberal traditions and scepticism towards Israeli governments.

The largest Jewish community in the world is defined by its deep integration into America's national story, its liberal traditions and scepticism towards Israeli governments.

A Jewish-American dream | Colin Shindler

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Can democracy cope with an age of impatience? In a culture shaped by acceleration and instant gratification, democratic systems are struggling to meet the demand for speed.

Can democracy cope with an age of impatience? | Elise Morrison

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/can...

Let Churchill rest in peace Britain's wartime prime minister was heroic and courageous, but his virtues and vices belong to a different age. It is time to find new heroes for the British national pantheon.

Britain's wartime prime minister was heroic and courageous, but his virtues and vices belong to a different age. It is time to find new heroes for the British national pantheon.

Let Churchill rest in peace | Brendan Simms

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/let...

Trump’s Venezuela playbook may falter in Havana Venezuela is Trump’s acid test for reordering the Western Hemisphere, but pursuing regime change in Cuba presents a far greater challenge.

Trump’s Venezuela playbook may falter in Havana | Joseph Ledford

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What Hamnet owes to Virgil’s Georgics Maggie O’Farrell’s 'Hamnet' and its 2025 film adaptation draw extensively on Virgil’s 'Georgics', showing how the classical tradition continues to illuminate enduring human questions.

Maggie O’Farrell’s 'Hamnet' and its 2025 film adaptation draw extensively on Virgil’s 'Georgics', showing how the classical tradition continues to illuminate enduring human questions.

What Hamnet owes to Virgil’s Georgics | Orlando Gibbs

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How to manage a geopolitical chokepoint The successful 1936 Montreux Convention, a grand diplomatic bargain over the Turkish Straits, shows why geopolitical chokepoints need a strong and reliable status quo power to act as gatekeeper.

The successful 1936 Montreux Convention, a grand diplomatic bargain over the Turkish Straits, shows why geopolitical chokepoints need a strong and reliable status quo power to act as gatekeeper.

How to manage a geopolitical chokepoint | Emily Wang

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/how...

Francis of Assisi: God's holy fool Eight centuries after his death, Francis of Assisi, ascetic, poet, and visionary, still embodies a transformative and enduring vision of ‘holy foolishness’.

Eight centuries after his death, Francis of Assisi, ascetic, poet and visionary, still embodies a transformative and enduring vision of ‘holy foolishness’.

Francis of Assisi: God’s holy fool | Richard Marranca

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The Houthis’ forever war Elisabeth Kendall speaks to EI’s Jack Dickens about what motivates the Houthis. Following the outbreak of the war in Iran, the Yemeni militant group now has an outsized ability to disrupt global trade...

🎧The EI Podcast: The Houthis’ forever war

Elisabeth Kendall speaks to Jack Dickens about what motivates the Islamist group.
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