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Brendan Simms is a professor in the history of international relations at Peterhouse, Cambridge and a New Statesman contributing writer. His most recent book is Hitler: Only the World was Enough (Allen Lane)
England’s “Irish Question” first emerged in the Middle Ages and has returned to haunt the present Brexit crisis. But is the European Union making a promise to the Republic of Ireland that it will be unable to keep?
By the turn of the millennium, it seemed that the Führer and Nazism had not just been comprehensively defeated but safely buried. But now, as globalisation fragments and national populists rise, we are not so sure.
Five hundred years ago a political and religious crisis tore Europe apart. Now the continent is entering another age of schism.
In the age of Putin and Assad, British politics could learn a lesson from Liverpool.
The continent’s old crises have not been resolved.
The crucial variable is not British power but the weakness of Europe.
Under Trump, the United States could turn away from Europe, leaving the continent exposed and vulnerable. So is it the destiny of the UK alone to stand for collective defence, free trade and fair play in a turbulent age?
It would be wrong to hope that either domestic or international checks and balances will constrain Trump abroad. Geopolitically, the result would be unpredictable – at best.
Is full political union of the eurozone the only way to stop the disintegration of Europe after Brexit?
Britain: Leading, Not Leaving argues that Britain's leadership could help Europe became a safer place with a stronger economy.
