The effects are clear around the world. If Western strategic attention had not been on China and the Pacific, Putin might not have been confident enough to invade Ukraine. Neither might he have done so without the backing of Xi Jinping, who has provided Russia with arms and economic support, nor without the knowledge that countries like India and Pakistan would continue to import Russian oil and gas.This also helps to explain the alarming pattern of events in the Middle East, which threaten a new oil crisis and another global economic shock. Iran, determined to acquire its own nuclear...…The effects are clear around the world. If Western strategic attention had not been on China and the Pacific, Putin might not have been confident enough to invade Ukraine. Neither might he have done so without the backing of Xi Jinping, who has provided Russia with arms and economic support, nor without the knowledge that countries like India and Pakistan would continue to import Russian oil and gas.This also helps to explain the alarming pattern of events in the Middle East, which threaten a new oil crisis and another global economic shock. Iran, determined to acquire its own nuclear...WW…

One of the sickest aspects of Britain’s culture war is that the Left accuses the Right of starting each battle. Yet the reality is that from cancel culture to the denigration of British history, from gender fluidity to the racialisation of almost everything, it is always the Left firing the first shots.“But what about flags?” scoff Left-wing culture warriors. “You can’t see ministers these days without a Union Flag behind them.” But this only proves the point. The Tories have realised that flying the flag sends their opponents into paroxysms of fury, and this suits Conservative electoral...…One of the sickest aspects of Britain’s culture war is that the Left accuses the Right of starting each battle. Yet the reality is that from cancel culture to the denigration of British history, from gender fluidity to the racialisation of almost everything, it is always the Left firing the first shots.“But what about flags?” scoff Left-wing culture warriors. “You can’t see ministers these days without a Union Flag behind them.” But this only proves the point. The Tories have realised that flying the flag sends their opponents into paroxysms of fury, and this suits Conservative electoral...WW…

Everyone is afraid, and nobody admits it. After a teacher in Yorkshire used a drawing of the Prophet Mohammed to teach a lesson about blasphemy, angry Muslims gathered outside his school. The teacher was suspended. The school pre-empted its own inquiry, and apologised. The teaching unions remained silent. Local politicians wrung their hands. With protests continuing, the school shut its gates and told pupils to stay at home.On Thursday, a Muslim charity, Purpose of Life, named the teacher and, in supposedly warning against violence, legitimised and incited it by equating the actions of the...…Everyone is afraid, and nobody admits it. After a teacher in Yorkshire used a drawing of the Prophet Mohammed to teach a lesson about blasphemy, angry Muslims gathered outside his school. The teacher was suspended. The school pre-empted its own inquiry, and apologised. The teaching unions remained silent. Local politicians wrung their hands. With protests continuing, the school shut its gates and told pupils to stay at home.On Thursday, a Muslim charity, Purpose of Life, named the teacher and, in supposedly warning against violence, legitimised and incited it by equating the actions of the...WW…

It is fast becoming a political maxim that the more society talks about diversity, the less tolerant it becomes of difference. And the more our leaders talk about unity, the less they seem capable of bringing it about.In his inaugural speech last week, . But read his words closely, and examine his first actions as president, and you will see confusion, contradiction and dogma that is likely to lead only to further division.Of course, absolute unity is impossible to achieve in any political system. Autocratic regimes intimidate and bully their citizens into conformity with the ideologies of...…It is fast becoming a political maxim that the more society talks about diversity, the less tolerant it becomes of difference. And the more our leaders talk about unity, the less they seem capable of bringing it about.In his inaugural speech last week, . But read his words closely, and examine his first actions as president, and you will see confusion, contradiction and dogma that is likely to lead only to further division.Of course, absolute unity is impossible to achieve in any political system. Autocratic regimes intimidate and bully their citizens into conformity with the ideologies of...WW…

If anybody believes that the recent good news about coronavirus vaccines means life will soon return to normal, Rishi Sunak will bring them crashing down to earth onThe vaccines, government insiders and pharmaceutical companies caution, will still take some time to conclude and then administer. And there remains the danger that Covid might mutate in ways that make the vaccines less effective. These are the reasons why, if we want to lift all restrictions on social and economic activity, we still need to develop the capacity to test hundreds of thousands of people on a daily basis.This...…If anybody believes that the recent good news about coronavirus vaccines means life will soon return to normal, Rishi Sunak will bring them crashing down to earth onThe vaccines, government insiders and pharmaceutical companies caution, will still take some time to conclude and then administer. And there remains the danger that Covid might mutate in ways that make the vaccines less effective. These are the reasons why, if we want to lift all restrictions on social and economic activity, we still need to develop the capacity to test hundreds of thousands of people on a daily basis.This...WW…

As the last week, “reaction was both positive and divided”, according to The Guardian.Yes, it is a very odd sentence. Of course, those responding to the news might have been divided by the extent of their positivity. Some might have believed the judges’ decision unprecedented in its brilliance and wisdom; others merely satisfied that the best authors had been identified.But this was not, as the report implicitly confessed, the explanation of the division. The response to the shortlist was welcomed by some but criticised by others, because the nomination rules are controversial. Until 2014,...…As the last week, “reaction was both positive and divided”, according to The Guardian.Yes, it is a very odd sentence. Of course, those responding to the news might have been divided by the extent of their positivity. Some might have believed the judges’ decision unprecedented in its brilliance and wisdom; others merely satisfied that the best authors had been identified.But this was not, as the report implicitly confessed, the explanation of the division. The response to the shortlist was welcomed by some but criticised by others, because the nomination rules are controversial. Until 2014,...WW…

With an eye-roll here, and a put-down there, it has long been sport for the world to watch Angela Merkel’s response to .As amusing for many as this may be, the game makes light of the grave predicament facing the West. Just as Europe and America face relative economic decline and growing insecurity, not to mention domestic instability, the Western Alliance is no more. The , our commitment to collective security is in doubt, and our response to increasingly assertive hostile foreign states is fragmented and ineffective.Optimistic liberals might suppose that the election of Joe Biden as...…With an eye-roll here, and a put-down there, it has long been sport for the world to watch Angela Merkel’s response to .As amusing for many as this may be, the game makes light of the grave predicament facing the West. Just as Europe and America face relative economic decline and growing insecurity, not to mention domestic instability, the Western Alliance is no more. The , our commitment to collective security is in doubt, and our response to increasingly assertive hostile foreign states is fragmented and ineffective.Optimistic liberals might suppose that the election of Joe Biden as...WW…

Even more than Brexit, no issue demonstrates the division between the country and its governing elites better than During election campaigns, and referendums too, politicians promise control and tell the voters they will get the numbers down. But between those campaigns, they hide behind the complexity of statistics and emphasise the apparently vital economic need for every kind of immigration: high-skilled, low-skilled, students, workers.But now the politicians have to contend with a new problem. In place of complicated statistics, we have the simplicity of an image: photographs showing...…Even more than Brexit, no issue demonstrates the division between the country and its governing elites better than During election campaigns, and referendums too, politicians promise control and tell the voters they will get the numbers down. But between those campaigns, they hide behind the complexity of statistics and emphasise the apparently vital economic need for every kind of immigration: high-skilled, low-skilled, students, workers.But now the politicians have to contend with a new problem. In place of complicated statistics, we have the simplicity of an image: photographs showing...WW…

is a terrible yet apposite metaphor for our troubled times. We do not know who tried to destroy this beautiful place of worship, but we should understand the significance of the action.Attacks on churches in France, common in recent years, have been carried out by anarchists, nihilists, Islamists and others. But regardless of the cause – or lack of one – behind this attack, its symbolism is unmistakable.Churches and cathedrals stand for religious faith, of course. They represent Europe’s Christian heritage, too. They are part of our cultural and national identities.Some have stood for...…is a terrible yet apposite metaphor for our troubled times. We do not know who tried to destroy this beautiful place of worship, but we should understand the significance of the action.Attacks on churches in France, common in recent years, have been carried out by anarchists, nihilists, Islamists and others. But regardless of the cause – or lack of one – behind this attack, its symbolism is unmistakable.Churches and cathedrals stand for religious faith, of course. They represent Europe’s Christian heritage, too. They are part of our cultural and national identities.Some have stood for...WW…

How have we allowed things to get this far? How is it that a minority of extreme activists can dictate to politicians, broadcasters, universities, firms and the wider world what can and cannot be said, and who can and cannot say it? Why do they get to determine the true meaning of words written or spoken by others?As the mainstream grapples with these questions, several old thinkers keep coming up. Michel Foucault, a post-modernist, argued that all discourse is oppressive. Antonio Gramsci, a Marxist, said that cultural hegemony perpetuates political hegemony. Rudi Dutschke, another Marxist,...…How have we allowed things to get this far? How is it that a minority of extreme activists can dictate to politicians, broadcasters, universities, firms and the wider world what can and cannot be said, and who can and cannot say it? Why do they get to determine the true meaning of words written or spoken by others?As the mainstream grapples with these questions, several old thinkers keep coming up. Michel Foucault, a post-modernist, argued that all discourse is oppressive. Antonio Gramsci, a Marxist, said that cultural hegemony perpetuates political hegemony. Rudi Dutschke, another Marxist,...WW…