The Enduring Crown Commonwealth is a welcome and thoughtful addition to the debate on the future of all four lands that constitute the diplomatic acronym. It is, however, just the start of a debate. Particularly since Brexit, the question of deeper trade relations and freer movement of peoples has been on the negotiating table

Twenty-five years ago, I sat down to write an essay […]

If a different, more sensible, and better-informed Globalisation 3.0 is to emerge, it will require deep and independent thinking about human societies beyond the certainties and myths of current academia. Emmanuel Todd’s 'Lineages of Modernity' is a prime example of such thinking

Two decades ago, I sat down to write an essay […]

The European Union is not nearly as good as the […]

One of the current problems with international relations is that no single set of rules can deal adequately with players setting their own rules. Think about it: Do the same expectations prevail when negotiating with, say, Iran as with our amiable cousins across the Tasman?

Author John Bloom's account of the Iridium satellite network is more than a ripping read, it is both a commentary on the way we do technology today and a reminder of Friedrich Hayek's observation that presumed experts and planners are the last people you want picking winners

As a nation we face complex challenges and opportunities -- prospects to be framed against healthy scepticism and a liking for many features of lives we lead now. But we should never forget, as Giuseppe Lampedusa put it, "everything needs to change, so everything can stay the same”

A Trump administration may well see needed reforms left undone and unneeded populist measures promoted. As this most unlikely of candidates draws closer to the GOP's nomination, one thing is certain: Whatever the mogul's flaws, and they are many, he is less dangerous than Hillary