Jack Dickens

The Engelsberg Ideas app is now live!

Please do treat yourself to the best commentary on history, culture and geopolitics from the world’s leading thinkers - completely FREE OF CHARGE:

Very pleased to see the new Engelsberg Ideas app launched! Can’t believe the journey since we went live with the site in June 2020.

The EI App

The Engelsberg Ideas App is here. A new home for essays, notebooks, reviews and podcasts from leading thinkers on history, culture and geopolitics.

Read, listen and explore our archive – all completely free.

engelsbergideas.com/the-ei-app/

The West’s military malaise The West’s response to new methods of warfare in Ukraine and the Middle East has been sluggish, revealing an adaptation process that is slow, risk-averse and underfunded.

The West’s response to new methods of warfare in Ukraine and the Middle East has been sluggish, revealing an adaptation process that is slow, risk-averse and underfunded.

The West’s military malaise | Mick Ryan (@warinthefuture.bsky.social)

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...

Cyprus' geopolitical future is at stake Two decades after joining the EU, Cyprus remains a divided island, its strategic position in the eastern Mediterranean uncertain.

Two decades after joining the EU, Cyprus remains a divided island, its strategic position in the eastern Mediterranean uncertain.

Cyprus’ geopolitical future is at stake | Hannah Lucinda Smith
(@hannahluci.bsky.social)

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/cyp...

My review of Scott Anderson's superb book.

The Special Relationship in a world of hard power The alliance between Britain and the United States worked best when the former had leverage of its own.

The alliance between Britain and the United States worked best when the former had leverage of its own.

The Special Relationship in a world of hard power | @chountisdefabbri.bsky.social

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...

The house of Khamenei lives on Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new Supreme Leader, is a devoted son of the Islamic Republic whose rule may take the regime in an even more extreme direction.

Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new Supreme Leader, is a devoted son of the Islamic Republic whose rule may take the regime in an even more extreme direction.

The house of Khamenei lives on | Saeid Golkar & Jason M. Brodsky

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...

The roots of America’s oil anxiety President Trump’s call for the United States to ‘Drill, baby, drill!’ is a new riff on a familiar theme. American fears about an overdependence on imported oil have a long lineage stretching back to t...

With Trump under pressure over high oil prices, I’m re-upping this @engelsbergideas.bsky.social piece from last year in which I explore the roots of America’s oil anxiety - via Jack Kerouac, the Oil Crisis and “Drill, baby, drill”.

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...

Indulgences, LLMs, and the crisis of the university Just as indulgences once acted as a proxy for salvation, so exams now serve as proxies for learning.

Just as indulgences once acted as a proxy for salvation, so exams now serve as proxies for learning.

Indulgences, LLMs, and the crisis of the university | @daisychristo.bsky.social

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/ind...

How the United States lost Iran Behind Washington’s failure to predict the Iranian Revolution of 1979 lay a long history of hubris, strategic miscalculations and delusional thinking.

Behind Washington’s failure to predict the Iranian Revolution of 1979 lay a long history of hubris, strategic miscalculations and delusional thinking.

How the United States lost Iran | @radchenko.bsky.social

engelsbergideas.com/reviews/how-...

The roots of America’s oil anxiety President Trump’s call for the United States to ‘Drill, baby, drill!’ is a new riff on a familiar theme. American fears about an overdependence on imported oil have a long lineage stretching back to t...

With Trump under pressure over high oil prices, I’m re-upping this @engelsbergideas.bsky.social piece from last year in which I explore the roots of America’s oil anxiety - via Jack Kerouac, the Oil Crisis and “Drill, baby, drill”.

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...

Iran and the perils of fighting the last war As the Iran war intensifies across the Middle East, leaders cannot afford to draw the wrong lessons from past crises.

As the Iran war intensifies across the Middle East, leaders cannot afford to draw the wrong lessons from past crises.

Iran and the perils of fighting the last war | Rob Macaire

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/ira...

A guide to screening the Ancient World Films and TV series, from 'Jason and the Argonauts' to 'I, Claudius', continue to shape our understanding of antiquity.

Films and TV series, from 'Jason and the Argonauts' to 'I, Claudius', continue to shape our understanding of antiquity.

A guide to screening the Ancient World | Paul Cartledge

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/a-g...

The limits of global governance When global institutions fail, nation states must mobilise power to deliver results.

When global institutions fail, nation states must mobilise power to deliver results.

The limits of global governance | Nadia Schadlow

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...

The rise of the mega-influencer Mega-influencers shape the public imagination. Phillip Dolitsky and Luke Moon (https://engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the-rise-of-the-mega-influencer/) explore a world where narrative matters more than ...

The EI Podcast: The rise of the mega-influencer

Mega-influencers shape the public imagination. Phillip Dolitsky and Luke Moon explore a world where narrative matters more than fact.

audioboom.com/posts/886932...

Trump and Xi gamble on Latin America The United States and China are locked in an intensifying battle for Latin America. Yet both superpowers may be disappointed with the results.

The United States and China are locked in an intensifying battle for Latin America. Both superpowers may be disappointed by the results.

Trump and Xi gamble on Latin America | Marc Levinson

engelsbergideas.com/essays/trump...

I did wonder what Michael Oakeshott would make of all this…

The Iron Curtain 80 years on Winston Churchill's epochal warning on the problems posed by Russian aggression is as pertinent today as it was in 1946.

Winston Churchill's epochal warning on the problems posed by Russian aggression is as pertinent today as it was in 1946.

The Iron Curtain 80 years on | Keith Lowe

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...

Somewhat ironic. Churchill was an independent-minded, awkward ally. He relentlessly lobbied the Americans to back the 1953 coup that toppled the Mossadegh government in Iran, overcoming President Eisenhower’s initial belief that doing so wasn’t in the United States’ best interest.

My latest for EI on why Trump’s idea for a Venezuela-style solution in Iran is unlikely to work:

A deep history of America’s tariff wars The challenge to Trump’s tariff strategy is part of a much longer story. Controversy over trade policy has shaped American politics since the US Constitution was ratified in 1788.

The challenge to Trump’s tariff strategy is part of a much longer story. Controversy over trade policy has shaped American politics since the US Constitution was ratified in 1788.

A deep history of America’s tariff wars | Samuel Gregg

engelsbergideas.com/essays/a-dee...

My latest for EI on why Trump’s idea for a Venezuela-style solution in Iran is unlikely to work:

The logic behind Iran’s siege mentality As the Islamic Republic faces the greatest threat in its 47-year history, a ‘rope-a-dope’ strategy may keep it alive.

As the Islamic Republic faces the greatest threat in its 47-year history, a ‘rope-a-dope’ strategy may keep it alive.

The logic behind Iran’s siege mentality | @jackfdickens.bsky.social

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...

US-led airstrikes against the Islamic Republic are in the process of removing the Iranian regime’s monopoly of violence, argues Ali Ansari:

The Islamic Republic in ruins President Trump's strike on the Islamic Republic, Operation ‘Epic Fury’, seeks to remove the Iranian regime's monopoly of violence.

The Islamic Republic in ruins | Ali Ansari

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...

A short strike in Iran’s long war Will the actions of America and Israel enable Iranians to take back control?

Will the actions of America and Israel enable Iranians to take back control?

A short strike in Iran’s long war | Rob Johnson

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/a-s...

Putin, the once and future Chekist Gordon Corera contends that to truly understand Vladimir Putin, you have to understand the phenomenon of Chekism.

Gordon Corera (@gordoncorera.bsky.social) contends that to truly understand Vladimir Putin, you have to understand the phenomenon of Chekism.

Listen to our latest audio essay now – available on Spotify, Audioboom and Apple Podcasts.

engelsbergideas.com/podcast/ei-t...

The strange death of the nation state Nation states were never a natural or immutable part of our world order, and their decline and displacement through technological transformation may ultimately be a positive story.

Nation states were never a natural or immutable part of our world order, and their decline and displacement through technological transformation may ultimately be a positive story.

The strange death of the nation state | Bryan Appleyard

engelsbergideas.com/reviews/the-...

The power of sloth Recovering the lost meaning of sloth challenges modern assumptions about the good life.

Recovering the lost meaning of sloth challenges modern assumptions about the good life.

The power of sloth | Elise Morrison

engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-p...