GOVERNANCE & ELECTIONS
A Vortex of Decline Affecting Government Across the West
Starmer’s exit is indicative of the political turmoil afflicting Western governments around the world as nationalism overtakes globalism.
Dr Alastair Paynter, London Editor
Dr Alastair Paynter is a strategist, author and historian. A former academic, he is a Senior Fellow of Strategic Studies at the ISSA College of Fellows. He is also an artist and writes the newsletter bowofodysseus.substack.com.
HISTORY
The Original Special Relationship
A brief history of the oldest alliance in the world
HARDWARE, WEAPONRY & TECHNOLOGY
A Foreseeable End to the AI Bubble Within a Changing Global Ethos
Our current pace of strategic change continues to overwhelm us to the point where it is often difficult to break down the areas of change attributable to technologies – such as artificial intelligence (AI) – and geopolitical moves from an age of globalism back to an age of nationalism.
HISTORY
Geography: We Are Where We Are
Geography is patently a critical factor in strategic thinking, not just because of the physical limitations and possibilities it unveils, but because of the psychological impact of geography upon its inhabitants.
SECURITY, UNREST & WAR
Civilizational Collapse as Reality
The November 2025 publication of the United States' National Security Strategy was widely seen by critics as proof of a clear and explicit divergence between the United States and Europe.
HISTORY
Reinventing Nationalism
All of our philosophies and ideologies undergo transformation, whether we undertake this deliberately or through the accretion of history. But, at this time of strategic upheaval, there exists the prospect of consciously describing how future societies can be adapted.
HISTORY
Officers, Fit to Command? The Hammerstein-Equord Quadrant, while not novel, still works
The German general, Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord (1878-1943), is known to posterity as the Commander-in-Chief of the Reichswehr, the armed forces of Germany’s Weimar Republic (1918-33).
STRATEGY & INTELLIGENCE
The Limits of Long-Range Planning
Plans of attack rarely survive the first shot. Flexibility, guided by strategic principles, is key.
CULTURE, PSYCHOLOGY & MEDIA
Élites as an Informal Influence on Society
Élites of all types exert influence on society, and therefore on government and policy. In a period of disruption, such as now, can we expect — and do we need — the stabilizing resurrection of traditionally-respected figures of influence to calm the transition?
CULTURE, PSYCHOLOGY & MEDIA
Power Projection: The Magic Seven Ideas
The importance of knowing how to behave intelligently.
GOVERNANCE & ELECTIONS
The Reactive Fear Against Nationalism
SECURITY, UNREST & WAR
A New Europe? Wider Consequences of the Russia-Ukraine War
The conflict has become a catalyst for major transformation in Europe and beyond.