It Started in Damascus: How the Long Syrian Revolution Reshaped Our World by Rime Allaf was chosen as an Engelsberg Ideas Book of the Year! 👏👏 ‘Among the best’ of the new, retrospective histories of the Assad regime. 👇 engelsbergideas.com/reviews/books-…

Examining the strategy of different authoritarian rulers reveals why, in a world of great power politics, a 'Maduro moment' may not be the fate of all despotic regimes. The authoritarian’s handbook | Edward Howell engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the-a…

In my latest piece for Engelsberg Ideas, I examine how in today's world of great power politics--not all despotic regimes may face a 'Maduro moment'. But this does not mean we should ignore them: in fact, far from it.

Familiarity with strong-armed tactics is one of the reasons why Latin Americans tend to understand Trump’s brand of populism. Strongmen of the New World | Andreas Campomar engelsbergideas.com/notebook/stron…

It is tempting to think of Blake’s visions as mere flights of fancy, vivid but insubstantial by-products of a mystical imagination. But for the poet, they were the key to everything. Seeing angels with William Blake | Alexander Lee engelsbergideas.com/reviews/seeing…

“It’s perhaps tempting to write Blake’s visions off as mere flights of fancy – the vivid, but insubstantial, by-products of a peculiarly mystical imagination. But for Blake, they were the key to everything.” ✍️ My latest for Engelsberg Ideas engelsbergideas.com/reviews/seeing…

Agent-running is all about people. The safety of agents – who often treat their case officers as confessional, priest-like figures – is paramount. The art of agent-running | Marc Polymeropoulos engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the-a…

My latest, on agent-running.

Iran’s new age of revolutions | Kasra Aarabi (کسری اعرابی) and Saeid Golkar engelsbergideas.com/notebook/irans…

This is great piece by Marc Polymeropoulos on agent-handling. It should be read alongside Alan Studner's classic on how some agents come to be: "Psychology of Treason." What I consider the "They fuck you up, your mum and dad" field manual for spies and counterspies. cia.gov/readingroom/do…

“This country will not be fixed until we bury the mullahs.” This slogan captures the prevailing mood on Iran’s streets today. Saeid Golkar & I unpack the Iran protests, how the regime clings on—and what the West can do to support the Iranian people 👇 engelsbergideas.com/notebook/irans…

Why would Trump want Venezuela’s oil? In this essay for Engelsberg Ideas last year, I explained the postwar origins of America’s oil anxiety - and why ramping up domestic production (“drill, baby, drill!”) was unlikely to resolve it: engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the-r…

Fascinating piece by the one and only Marc Polymeropoulos on agent running. Definitely worth your time if you're into the espionage world engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the-a…

Each communications revolution rewrites the political order. Democracies will not survive by clinging to broadcast certainties or chasing every viral falsehood. After the Eighth Great Power | Lisa Klaassen engelsbergideas.com/notebook/after…

Excellent piece by the always interesting Marc Polymeropoulos. I appreciate the mention of my book and how it fits in with these ideas.

Here is my Engelsberg Ideas article from last year: "The Deep History behind America's Greenland gambit." engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-dee… A case study in using #FRUS to get up to speed on history in the news. #Greenland.

The deep roots of Iran’s economic crisis | Ali Ansari engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-dee…

My analysis of the mercantile mentality which pervades Iran’s political economy and infects her political culture. This is a structural problem which won’t be changed overnight and reinforced by a weak legal framework, which it encourages, is the root of much of Iran’s woes.