A long piece on Georgia 🇬🇪at a tipping point in its modern history. I try to look in depth at the economic aspect, which is key. I see GD as wanting a business partnership with Russia, not a political alignment, but the EU is an impediment to that.
engelsbergideas.com/essays/georgia…

Thoroughly enjoyed being interviewed by Australia’s ABC Radio National about my article on submarine cable vulnerability: engelsbergideas.com/essays/underse…

Last week it was 69 years since the Warsaw Pact was formed.

Nobody remembered.

What a befitting legacy for the unjust alliance that was the Warsaw Pact.

Meanwhile, NATO is celebrating its 75th anniversary all year.

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the-w…

(Me Engelsberg Ideas)

The Warsaw Pact’s forgotten legacy | Elisabeth Braw

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the-w…

‘The future is hard but not impossible. We should free ourselves of the worship of the tech gods – Musk, Bezos, Altman, Zuckerberg, etc – and their money. They are so blinded by their ingenuity that they know very little of value.’
Me on the media

engelsbergideas.com/essays/testame…

Terrific from Bryan Appleyard CBE. For Engelsberg Ideas.

Testament to doomed media | Bryan Appleyard CBE

engelsbergideas.com/essays/testame…

'The regime requires balance, and maintaining a semblance of balance will be necessary for any succession to succeed and for the Islamic Republic to be preserved.'

The looming battle for succession in Iran | Afshon Ostovar

engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-loo…

'Playing God succeeds marvellously in offering readers a highly-readable taster of the sorts of conversations in which science and religion might profitably engage' Great review of Playing God from Chris Harding for Engelsberg Ideas shorturl.at/naHUE

The strange case of three men charged with spying for Hong Kong is the latest case in the city's rich history of spies, surveillance and repression.

Hong Kong’s secret world of spies | Michael Sheridan

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/hong-…

If you want to keep ahead of the game, one site is essential. Engelsberg Ideas.

'The regime requires balance, and maintaining a semblance of balance will be necessary for any succession to succeed and for the Islamic Republic to be preserved.'

The looming battle for succession in Iran | Afshon Ostovar

engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-loo…

Iran’s regime is preparing for Khamenei’s demise, but how the transition plays out is unlikely to be straightforward. The IRGC, in particular, will have a say and will seek to gain. My latest on Iran’s looming succession crisis for ⁦Engelsberg Ideas⁩ engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-loo…

As I discuss in this essay, Raisi is one of the top candidates to succeed Iran’s supreme leader, & leads a committee working on succession. He’s a regime insider, policy hawk, & close to the IRGC. Helicopter crashes aren’t uncommon, but Iranian politics are rarely straightforward

The question of who will succeed Ayatollah Khamenei, and how the IRGC will shape the decision, looms large for Iran and the wider Middle East. | Afshon Ostovar

engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-loo…

I very much enjoyed chatting all things upheaval, polycrisis, revolution, French culture in the late 19th Century, why the quality of political language matters and much else - this conversation went in interesting directions!

🎙️The latest episode of EI Talks... is now live.

🗣️ Alastair Benn and Paul Lay ask: do we really live in an age of upheaval?

audioboom.com/posts/8507164-…