Publication

ARTICLE BY GABRIELLE RIFKIND

After almost 50 years of violent conflict, is Afghanistan heading for a sustainable peace? … Read More >Afghanistan’s fragile future shows the paradoxical nature of peacemaking

ARTICLE BY GABRIELLE RIFKIND and GIANDOMENICO PICCO

Decades of corrupt and authoritarian governments in the region which brutally suppressed both secular opposition and moderate Islamists have created the breeding ground for a more nihilist ideology. … Read More >The new great regional game: Saudi Arabia and Iran

ARTICLE BY GABRIELLE RIFKIND and JOHN HARRIS

Is the Homeric concept of xenia – generosity to strangers – the best tonic for the rise of right-wing populism? … Read More >Ancient hospitality

ARTICLE BY GABRIELLE RIFKIND

Naz Shah demonstrated extraordinary emotional intelligence when she was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme this week. … Read More >We need emotional and political intelligence in politics

ARTICLE BY GABRIELLE RIFKIND

A number of parties seem to have been complicit in the failure of the politics to prevent this latest round of deadly fighting in Gaza. In such a climate, one can be motivated to damage one’s enemy rather than to protect one’s own best interest. … Read More >The fog of war: it is hard to think about peace

ARTICLE BY GABRIELLE RIFKIND

One of the most pressing issues of the 21st century is whether in international conflict the use of armed force to remove an “unjust” social order makes the world safer. We seem to be trapped in a crude, bipolar choice, in which we use military force to remove an oppressor or we do nothing. … Read More >Alternatives to military intervention: a commando team of mediators

ARTICLE BY GABRIELLE RIFKIND

Prime Minister Cameron’s arguments for going to war sounded rational and convincing on first reading. The reality is much more troubling, and we are at risk of repeating the past failures of Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan. Are western leaders falling into the same traps, as Islamic State (IS) is intent on provoking and expanding the war? … Read More >We need to defeat Islamic State – but how?

Decisions to go to war don’t just analyze whether we can win. That is the easy part: the superiority of the western military machine makes this an absolute. … Read More >Chilcot tells us what we already knew – how do we implement?

Tony Blair told Chilcot Saddam Hussein was, “a man to whom a last chance to do right is just a further opportunity to do wrong. He is blind to reason.” … Read More >Chilcot: all peaceful options were not exhausted