Behind the Times

Securing Antarctica

A new treaty on the governance of Antarctica, signed in 1959, became a trailblazing model for the world. But the future of the ‘white continent’ remains contentious.

A Second British Revolution

Over the last 30 years, the UK’s political class has swapped ideology for values and sleepwalked into major constitutional and political change. What can it learn from the last time it faced a crisis of such magnitude?

Leaving Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s current extradition law crisis is not the first that the territory has faced.

Kazakhstan’s Nuclear Nightmare

During the Cold War, nearly a quarter of all the world’s nuclear testing took place in Kazakhstan, in secret. In 1986, a high-profile disaster in Ukraine changed that.

Sudan’s Third Revolution

The revolt against President Omar al-Bashir is not the first in Sudan’s history, but it is the first since Africa’s former largest country split in two.

The Two Prices of Soy

Who cares whether China stops buying soy from the United States? History suggests we all should.