Engelsberg Ideas

17/11/2025

The annual conferences held by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reveal a worldview that is dependent on continued confrontation with the West.

Inside the mind of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard | Kasra Aarabi and Saeid Golkar

The annual conferences held by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reveal a worldview that is dependent on continued confrontation with the West.

17/11/2025

In the northernmost corner of Denmark, the painter Anna Ancher made light her lifelong muse.

Anna Ancher’s language of light | Alexandra Wilson

In the northernmost corner of Denmark, the painter Anna Ancher found the light of Skagen to be her lifelong muse.

14/11/2025

The Turkish president’s ongoing crackdown against political opponents has left his challengers in disarray, giving him a free hand to continue reshaping the country in his own image.

Hannah Lucinda Smith on Erdogan’s new order. Click the link in bio to read.

Image: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reviews the military guard of honour at the Presidential palace in Ankara. Credit: Associated Press.

14/11/2025

The German war hero was an aesthete who sought to be heard only by those who might be willing to listen.

Jaspreet Singh Boparai on the aesthetics of Ernst Jünger.

Click the link in bio to read. Image: Ernst Jünger. Credit: INTERFOTO

13/11/2025

As Putin seeks to avoid another politically damaging mobilisation, the temptation to draw on Moscow's extensive global trafficking networks will only grow.

The trafficking networks sustaining Russia’s war of attrition | Munira Mustaffa

As Putin seeks to avoid another politically damaging mobilisation, the temptation to draw on Moscow's extensive global trafficking networks will only grow.

12/11/2025

The philosopher sought freedom from the bewitchment of language.

Wittgenstein’s great silence | Bryan Appleyard

The philosopher sought freedom from the bewitchment of language.

12/11/2025

The Locarno Pact of 1925 provided the foundations for a more just, durable and peaceful European order. Although its early promise was snuffed out by the global crisis of the 1930s, the pact's guiding spirit influenced future architects of international order in the 20th century.

The Locarno Pact’s enduring legacy | Patrick O. Cohrs

The Locarno Pact of 1925 provided the foundations for a more just, durable and peaceful European order. Although its early promise was snuffed out by the global crisis of the 1930s, the pact's guiding spirit influenced the architects of the postwar international system.

11/11/2025

With the entry of Timor-Leste, ASEAN has gained a tiny new democracy to join its diverse grouping of one-party states, absolute monarchies and military juntas.

Why Timor-Leste joined ASEAN | Imran Shamsunahar

With the entry of Timor-Leste, ASEAN has gained a tiny new democracy to join its diverse grouping of one-party states, absolute monarchies and military juntas.

11/11/2025

The traffic lights of today have come a long way from the mechanical, gas-powered device first unveiled in London almost 160 years ago. But will they survive in a world of driverless cars?

How the traffic light changed the world | Keith Lowe

The traffic lights of today have come a long way from the mechanical, gas-powered device first unveiled in London almost 160 years ago. But will they survive in a world of driverless cars?

11/11/2025

He was a writer who created his own world, filled with lamplighters and scalphunters, babysitters and pavement artists.

The craft of John le Carré | Malcolm Forbes

He was a writer who created his own world, filled with lamplighters and scalphunters, babysitters and pavement artists.

10/11/2025

The militants on the brink of toppling Mali's junta are affiliated with Al Qaeda. But their original grievances have distinct geographic and cultural elements rooted in a deeper past.

The perils of a jihadist state in Africa | Tim Marshall

The militants on the brink of toppling Mali's junta are affiliated with Al Qaeda. But their original grievances have distinct geographic and cultural elements rooted in a deeper past.

10/11/2025

As 'Islam' rose from a personal act of submission to an ideology, it eclipsed the very divinity it sought to serve.

Modern Islam’s loss of theology | Fitzroy Morrissey

As 'Islam' rose from a personal act of submission to an ideology, it eclipsed the very divinity it sought to serve.