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Society

Essays and videos on social issues, history, political life and the future

Animals and humans Anthropology Archaeology Automation and robotics Cities Demography and migration Economic history Economics Education Environmental history Fairness and equality Future of technology Gender Global history History History of technology Human rights and justice Information and communication Making Nations and empires Politics and government Poverty and development Progress and modernity Public health Race and ethnicity Religion The ancient world The environment The future War and peace Work

A street with an American flag a mural of a vintage town scene and a black pickup truck passing by.

essay

Politics and government

The spectre of insecurity

Liberals have forgotten that in order for our lives not to be nasty, brutish and short, we need stability. Enter Hobbes

Jennifer M Morton

Painting of a woman with a sword defending a fort from attackers; other figures fight with swords and wooden poles and carry stones.

essay

Race and ethnicity

The forging of countries

Two distinct and conflicting forms of nationalism – civic and ethnic – helped create the nation-states of Europe

Luka Ivan Jukić

Photo of a light beige woven fabric with black and red borders on the sides, frayed edges at the bottom, and a black background.

essay

Political philosophy

Citizens and spinning wheels

For Indians to be truly free, Gandhi argued they must take up traditional crafts. Was it a quixotic hope or inspired solution?

Benjamin Studebaker

Aerial view of an industrial site emitting smoke, surrounded by snow-covered buildings and landscape, under a clear blue sky with birds flying overhead.

essay

Politics and government

Governing for the planet

Nation-states are no longer fit for purpose to create a habitable future for humans and nature. Which political system is?

Jonathan S Blake & Nils Gilman

Three women in traditional attire stand outdoors in a dry landscape. One person carries a child on their back while another holds a walking stick.

essay

Anthropology

The Ju/’hoansi protocol

Hunter-gatherer societies are highly expert in group deliberation and decision-making which respects both difference and unity

Vivek V Venkataraman

a crowd of women dressed in black face the camera

essay

Politics and government

India and indigeneity

In a country of such extraordinary diversity, the UN definition of ‘indigenous’ does little more than fuel ethnic violence

Dikshit Sarma Bhagabati

A group of women, some wearing hijabs and masks, hold up signs with handwritten text in Arabic script during a protest.

video

Politics and government

How it looked to Afghan women to see the Taliban return to power

33 minutes

Female healthcare worker examines a tattooed man’s eye in a hallway decorated with colourful artwork.

essay

Economics

Who bears the risk?

Under the guise of empowerment and freedom, politicians and business are offloading lifethreatening risk to individuals

Suzanne Schneider

Painting of a scene in a historic European street with men dressed in colourful Renaissance attire, with hats and capes, and women in period clothing.

essay

Political philosophy

The battles over beginnings

Niccolò Machiavelli’s profound insights about the violent origins of political societies help us understand the world today

David Polansky

Seen from inside, a couple eat a basic meal whilst outside in an alleyway a queue of mostly older people wait their turn

essay

Political philosophy

Liberal socialism now

As the crisis of democracy deepens, we must return to liberalism’s revolutionary and egalitarian roots

Matthew McManus

Painting of a royal figure in elaborate attire with a sceptre, crown, and ornate background featuring a pillar and grand drapery.

essay

Thinkers and theories

Against power

As a republican, Sophie de Grouchy argued that sympathy, not domination, must be the glue that holds society together

Sandrine Bergès & Eric Schliesser

Medieval illustration of a couple in bed on the left and a king holding a sceptre, interacting with several figures and a horse on the right.

essay

History

The mythos of leadership

How the biblical King David and Machiavelli’s Prince can help us understand the dominant view of leaders as individualists

Moshik Temkin

Two men escort a handcuffed man from a cabin with a wooden exterior. The men are wearing casual clothing, including a cowboy hat.

essay

Information and communication

How to hate

The manifesto was always a hotheaded call to arms. Then it got a slick, digital makeover in the cause of coldblooded hate

Tyler Thier

Medieval painting of a bearded man in ornate armour on horseback, hunting in a forest. He holds a spear as his horse rears over a slain animal.

essay

Global history

The Asian world order

Before modern Europe existed there was a grand, interconnected political world, rich in scientific and artistic exchange

Ayşe Zarakol

Men are seen in a nondescript office type rooma against sunlight streaming through the window, their hands raised in devotion

essay

Religion

Indomitable Sufis

Once a centre of Afghan culture, Sufism seems to have disappeared in the maelstrom of war and upheaval. But still it survives

Annika Schmeding

An armoured police vehicle on a street with yellow tape and debris, an officer in the foreground, next to the “San Pedro St” sign.

video

Fairness and equality

A tragicomic account of how the Los Angeles Police Department blew up a city block

19 minutes

Two fashionably dressed women in modern style hijabs descend steps beneath a blue sky

essay

Religion

Secularism in Iran

Postcolonial intellectuals and Iran’s rulers agree that secularism is just Western imperialism in disguise. They are wrong

Patrick Hassan & Hossein Dabbagh

A rich Tudor-era outfit with elaborate brocade, fur trimming and jewellery, featuring ornate sleeves, a belt, and a robe with intricate patterns.

video

Art

Why a forcefully phallic portrait of Henry VIII is a masterful work of propaganda

6 minutes

Illustration of a smiling figure with a topknot, red cheeks, and a small goatee. The background features abstract, pastel-blue and light-brown brush strokes.

video

Global history

Meet the jesters who’ve spoken truth to power around the globe and across centuries

5 minutes

Woman with brown hair in a “Jews for Reproductive Freedom” shirt smiling and holding papers and a water bottle at an outdoor event.

video

Religion

How Jewish leaders in the US are fighting abortion bans on religious grounds

24 minutes

Woman with long hair, wearing a black cardigan and grey top, gesturing with hands while speaking outdoors with greenery in the background.

video

Political philosophy

Liberal democracies are backsliding worldwide. Could anarchy help?

24 minutes

Japanese and five-colour flags waving in the foreground with a sunset and two silhouetted figures on a horizon in the background, text in Japanese on the right.

essay

Nations and empires

Settler colonialism

Displacing and destroying peoples by colonisation is not just a historical Western evil but a global and contemporary one

Lachlan McNamee

Eugene V Debs making a speech from a stage on which several other men, women and a young girl are seated behind him; also shows 48-star flags of the United States hanging at the back of the stage

essay

Political philosophy

In the interests of all

How Eugene V Debs turned American republicanism against the chiefs of capitalism – and became a true crusader for freedom

Tom O’Shea

An older man stands proudly in front of his house near Leipzig, east Germany after reunification in 1990. A German flag hangs from a ground floor window.

essay

Economic history

Deservingness

In post-communist eastern and central Europe, history is intensely personal and economics is saturated with moral feeling

Till Hilmar