Bernard Porter

Too Tolerant of Terror?

The Victorians were wedded to fundamental tenets of liberalism, even when threatened with terrorism from abroad.

Surveillance: a new British tradition

Once among the least monitored nations in the world, Britain is now probably the most watched. Why do Britons make so little fuss about this erosion of their ancient liberties, asks Bernard Porter?

Cutting the British Empire Down to Size

The ‘British Empire’ was the name given by imperialists in the late 19th century to Britain’s territorial possessions. It was meant to create an image of unity and strength. But such a view is illusory, argues Bernard Porter.

Critics of Empire

Bernard Porter says that today’s advocates of humanitarian intervention would do well to ponder what J. A. Hobson and Ramsay MacDonald had to say a century ago about the dangers of liberal imperialism.

We Don’t Do Empire

Bernard Porter is unconvinced by American denials of a new imperialism and finds comparisons – as well as important differences – with the British experience.

What Did They Know of Empire?

Bernard Porter argues that, through most of the nineteenth century, most Britons knew little and cared less about the spread of the Empire.

9/11 ... 1910

Bernard Porter points out similarities and contrasts between terrorism then and now.