Category Archives: Uncategorized

That was Donald Rumsfeld’s proud claim at the height of the Iraq war in 2003. Of course it’s untrue. The Americans have always ‘done’ empire, from their very first days as a Republic, and throughout their periods of supposed ‘isolationism’, … Continue reading →

Has anybody else come across this unusual short story by EM Forster, originally published in a university magazine in 1909? I think it’s Forster’s only foray into science fiction: a dystopian story set in a world where the middle classes … Continue reading →

I’ve been trawling through history – or as much of it as I know – to find if there has ever been a madder, more stupid and more corrupt national leader anywhere in the world, than Trump. Any ideas? (Most … Continue reading →

Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (dramatic version) is a sell-out again this year at the Folkoperan in Stockholm, performed in English and with the text interspersed with English carols. We took Kajsa’s family to it this afternoon – my Christmas present … Continue reading →

He’s at it again: using Sweden as an object lesson in the dangers of foreign immigration. ‘So, Sweden was known as the safest country in Europe, one of the safest countries in the world. Now it’s known as a very … Continue reading →

As an undergraduate at university in England I studied more American history than British, including a ‘Special Subject’ on the 1840s, up to the ‘Great Compromise’ of 1850. As a result I’ve always rather admired the US political/governmental system, and … Continue reading →

Eleven years ago I published a piece on the LRB blogsite, bemoaning the capture of the ‘People’s Game’ by capitalism, and its consequent decline as a sport which in the past had used to truly represent communities, rather than the … Continue reading →

Should people have things they said and did decades ago at school held against them today? The question has come up in Britain recently, with reference to Reform Party leader Nigel Farage, whose overtly Nazi comments whilst a teenager at … Continue reading →

So the jury system in Britain is coming under question once again (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy7vdvrnnvzo). This is nothing new. The jury system is a messy one, with twelve ‘ordinary citizens’ having to be recruited each time at random, to have the last … Continue reading →

Can a teacher who is committed to a particular political point of view teach political history objectively? I’m pretty sure the answer is yes. In my own career (long ago now) as a lecturer and professor at a number of … Continue reading →