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engelsbergideas.bsky.social
Engelsberg Ideas
@engelsbergideas.bsky.social
1K followers 130 following 700 posts
Engelsberg Ideas is home to great writing from leading thinkers on history, culture and geopolitics, featuring essays as well as regular podcasts.

https://engelsbergideas.com/
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Engelsberg Ideas @engelsbergideas.bsky.social · 3h
Sanae Takaichi’s decisive election victory reflects broader global trends – a rightward shift in politics and a new, unapologetic nationalism.

Japan’s new political force | @jnilssonwright.bsky.social

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/jap...
Japan's new political force
Sanae Takaichi’s decisive election victory reflects broader global trends – a rightward shift in politics and a new, unapologetic nationalism.
engelsbergideas.com
Reposted by Engelsberg Ideas
alastairbenn.bsky.social
We were joined by Emma Smith (@oldfortunatus.bsky.social), Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Oxford, to explore the endless complexities of Hamlet on the latest EI Podcast. Listen here:
February 12, 2026 at 4:19 PM
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
Sanae Takaichi’s decisive election victory reflects broader global trends – a rightward shift in politics and a new, unapologetic nationalism.

Japan’s new political force | @jnilssonwright.bsky.social

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/jap...
Japan's new political force
Sanae Takaichi’s decisive election victory reflects broader global trends – a rightward shift in politics and a new, unapologetic nationalism.
engelsbergideas.com
February 12, 2026 at 1:42 PM
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
Great railway termini reflect both the national character and the distinctive spirit of the age of their construction.

The spirit of the railway station | Clive Aslet

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The spirit of the railway station
Great railway termini reflect both the national character and the distinctive spirit of the age of their construction.
engelsbergideas.com
February 12, 2026 at 12:21 PM
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
🎧The EI Podcast: Hamlet Unravelled

Emma Smith (@oldfortunatus.bsky.social), Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Oxford University, explores Hamlet and its rich critical history with EI’s @alastairbenn.bsky.social and @paullay.bsky.social

audioboom.com/posts/886038...
Hamlet unravelled
Emma Smith (https://www.ox.ac.uk/news-and-events/find-an-expert/professor-emma-smith) , Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Oxford University, explores Hamlet and its rich critical history with EI’s A...
audioboom.com
February 12, 2026 at 10:48 AM
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
Kurdish self-rule in Syria was a rare, if imperfect, experiment in democratic government. Its collapse amid waning US support will have implications for minorities and the balance of power across the Middle East.

The end of the Kurdish model | William Gourlay

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The end of the Kurdish model
Kurdish self-rule in Syria, forged amid the country's civil war and the fight against Islamic State, was a rare, if imperfect, experiment in democratic government. Its collapse amid waning US support ...
engelsbergideas.com
February 11, 2026 at 4:37 PM
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
European leaders should find inspiration in Keynes' insight – that the world becomes richer when economies raise productivity and allow wages to keep pace.

Europe’s wage paradox | @michaelpettis.bsky.social

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/eur...
Europe's wage paradox
European leaders should find inspiration in Keynes' insight – that the world becomes richer when economies raise productivity and allow wages to keep pace.
engelsbergideas.com
February 11, 2026 at 3:28 PM
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
With the expiration of the arms agreement between Washington and Moscow, the world faces a new era of nuclear competition.

New START, new nuclear threat | Owen Matthews

engelsbergideas.com/essays/new-s...
New START, new nuclear threat
With the expiration of the arms agreement between Washington and Moscow, the world faces a new era of nuclear competition.
engelsbergideas.com
February 11, 2026 at 11:28 AM
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
The aristocratic ambassadors who won America over | Tim Bouverie

engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-a...
The aristocratic ambassadors who won America over
Philip Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian, followed by Lord Halifax, led the British Embassy in Washington during the early years of the Second Wolrd War, securing US support for Britain and setting a sta...
engelsbergideas.com
February 10, 2026 at 3:49 PM
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
Edward Gibbon’s 'The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' was published 250 years ago. Its arguments remain as pertinent as ever.

Edward Gibbon’s empire | Sumantra Maitra

engelsbergideas.com/essays/edwar...
Edward Gibbon's empire
Edward Gibbon’s 'The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' was published 250 years ago. Its arguments remain as pertinent as ever.
engelsbergideas.com
February 10, 2026 at 12:24 PM
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
Berlin's 30-year rapprochement with Russia is a cautionary tale of a country that became blind to the possibility of war – and is now paying the price.

How Germany misread Russia for three decades | Friedrich Asschenfeldt

engelsbergideas.com/reviews/how-...
How Germany misread Russia for three decades
Berlin's 30-year rapprochement with Russia is a cautionary tale of a country that became blind to the possibility of war – and is now paying the price.
engelsbergideas.com
February 9, 2026 at 1:41 PM
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
The idea that images can transcend words has a long intellectual history.

The dream of a universal picture language | Keith Lowe

engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-d...
The dream of a universal picture language
The idea that images can transcend words has a long intellectual history.
engelsbergideas.com
February 9, 2026 at 11:42 AM
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
The confrontation over Greenland has become a defining test for the Nordic countries, revealing deep interdependencies shaped by history, geography, and alliance politics.

The Nordic strategic tradition | Peter Haldén

engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-n...
The Nordic strategic tradition
The confrontation over Greenland has become a defining test for the Nordic countries, revealing deep interdependencies shaped by history, geography, and alliance politics.
engelsbergideas.com
February 6, 2026 at 12:45 PM
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
The mutable German-Jewish historian was many things, but never dull.

The transformation of Ernst Kantorowicz | Samuel Rubinstein

engelsbergideas.com/reviews/the-...
The transformation of Ernst Kantorowicz
The mutable German-Jewish historian was many things, but never dull.
engelsbergideas.com
February 6, 2026 at 8:56 AM
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
Inside Moltbook, a social network run by AI agents, bots debate, cooperate, and form communities, forcing us to rethink what culture means.

Moltbook’s new society | Lisa Klaassen

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/mol...
Moltbook's new society
Inside Moltbook, a social network run by AI agents, bots debate, cooperate, and form communities, forcing us to rethink what culture means.
engelsbergideas.com
February 6, 2026 at 8:54 AM
Reposted by Engelsberg Ideas
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
🎧The EI Podcast: The making of Xi Jinping’s worldview

Rana Mitter explores Xi Jinping’s personal and ideological mindset in conversation with EI’s
@jackfdickens.bsky.social

audioboom.com/posts/885751...
The making of Xi Jinping's worldview
Rana Mitter (https://engelsbergideas.com/author/rana-mitter/) explores Xi Jinping’s personal and ideological mindset in conversation with EI’s Jack Dickens (https://engelsbergideas.com/author/jack-dic...
audioboom.com
February 5, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Engelsberg Ideas
jackfdickens.bsky.social
Who is Xi Jinping and what motivates him?

I sat down with Rana Mitter to explore Xi’s worldview, and what it means for both China and the world.
February 5, 2026 at 2:06 PM
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
🎧The EI Podcast: The making of Xi Jinping’s worldview

Rana Mitter explores Xi Jinping’s personal and ideological mindset in conversation with EI’s
@jackfdickens.bsky.social

audioboom.com/posts/885751...
The making of Xi Jinping's worldview
Rana Mitter (https://engelsbergideas.com/author/rana-mitter/) explores Xi Jinping’s personal and ideological mindset in conversation with EI’s Jack Dickens (https://engelsbergideas.com/author/jack-dic...
audioboom.com
February 5, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Engelsberg Ideas
chountisdefabbri.bsky.social
Suez at 70.
The standard morality tale blames Eden’s deception. But the deeper lesson is about alliance asymmetry: Britain discovered it couldn’t rely on the “Special Relationship” to simulate being a great power.

My new essay for
@engelsbergideas.bsky.social
February 5, 2026 at 11:07 AM
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
The Suez Crisis marked the moment when British statesmen realised that they could no longer rely on the American alliance to simulate being a great power.

Britain’s Suez catastrophe | Ioannes Chountis de Fabbri
(@chountisdefabbri.bsky.social)

engelsbergideas.com/essays/brita...
Britain's Suez catastrophe
The Suez Crisis, a severe geopolitical shock for all of Europe, marked the moment when British statesmen realised that they could no longer rely on the American alliance to simulate being a great powe...
engelsbergideas.com
February 5, 2026 at 10:48 AM
Reposted by Engelsberg Ideas
drchrisharding.bsky.social
Do go and see the British Museum's spellbinding new Samurai exhibition if you have a chance.

Meanwhile, my essay for Engelsberg Ideas on the origins and legacies of Japan's warrior class:
February 5, 2026 at 7:07 AM
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
Nearly 700 years after their political dominance ended, Japan’s warrior elite continue to shape global culture.

Why the samurai still matter | Chris Harding (@drchrisharding.bsky.social)

engelsbergideas.com/essays/why-t...
Why the samurai still matter
Nearly 700 years after their political dominance ended, Japan’s warrior elite continue to shape global culture.
engelsbergideas.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:02 PM
Reposted by Engelsberg Ideas
csns-uk.bsky.social
📝 NEW | Last December, Dr Shiraz Maher spent a fortnight in Syria, observing celebrations to mark the first year since the country’s liberation

He's now written up his experience for @engelsbergideas.bsky.social

🔗 engelsbergideas.com/notebook/vis...
Visions of a new Syria
Efforts to craft a new identity for Syria will mean little if its government cannot get a grip on spiralling sectarian violence.
engelsbergideas.com
February 4, 2026 at 10:52 AM
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
The contemporary world order is poorly suited to today's dynamic, changing international system, a disparity that lies at the heart of our current sense of crisis.

The future of world order | Francis J. Gavin

engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-f...
The future of world order
The contemporary world order is poorly suited to today's dynamic, changing international system, a disparity that lies at the heart of our current sense of crisis.
engelsbergideas.com
February 4, 2026 at 1:10 PM
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
China's drive to turn the Renminbi into a global currency may run into structural barriers.

Dollar v Renminbi | @quantumstrategy.bsky.social

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/dol...
Dollar v Renminbi
China's drive to turn the Renminbi into a global currency may run into structural barriers.
engelsbergideas.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:48 AM
Reposted by Engelsberg Ideas
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
In a post-literate world, reading is treated more like an assumed good than a skill to be actively practised.

The perils of hyper-literacy | @alastairbenn.bsky.social

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The perils of hyper-literacy
In a post-literate world, reading is treated more like an assumed good than a skill to be actively practised.
engelsbergideas.com
February 3, 2026 at 9:47 AM