The middle of nowhere

Edward Luttwak

Western analysts are forever bleating about the strategic importance of the middle east. But despite its oil, this backward region is less relevant than ever, and it would be better for everyone if the rest of the world learned to ignore it

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Why home doesn't matter

The BBC series "Child of Our Time" assumes that studying children with their parents will help us understand how their personalities develop. But this is a mistake: parents influence their children mainly by passing on their genes. The biggest environmental influences on personality are those that occur outside the home

Follow the leader

The "Blairism" strategy of the centre-left has brought ten years of power, thanks to a centralised leadership system attuned to the interests of middle Britain. Without Blair this system will no longer work. So will Labour now turn to electoral reform?

Ian Paisley

The man once seen as the embodiment of Protestant supremacism has agreed to share power with Sinn Féin. But did Northern Ireland have to wait for his giant ego to rise to the top of the unionist pile before a deal was possible?

Rowan Williams

Lesley Chamberlain

The Archbishop of Canterbury on Dostoevsky, "personalism" and how the story of Christ reminds him of Russian ideals

Banlieue blues

Shereen El Feki

Few residents of the French tower-block estates believe the result of the election will make any difference to their lives

What Stern got wrong

David Strahan

The Stern review on the economics of climate change completely fails to acknowledge the imminent decline in global oil production

Now for round two

Tim King

The first round of the French presidential election threw up a few surprises. But now it's a straight fight—and Sarkozy has the upper hand

Nigerian nightmare

Christopher Albin-Lackey

Nigeria's elections—rife with vote-rigging, violence and intimidation—are only the latest example of the corruption and decay that have characterised Obasanjo's rule

Endgame in Kosovo

Rebecca Thornton

Eight years after the Kosovo war, the UN is preparing to make a final decision on the province's final status. Can independence work?

Dilemmas of justice

Phil Clark

The challenges faced by the international criminal court are about more than "peace vs justice"

Defending the ICC

Tim Allen

I remain broadly confident about the international criminal court. Here's why

Nietzsche in Harare

The era of Robert Mugabe—the most intellectual of African presidents—is coming to an end. Who will follow him?

Railway panache

Train companies should present themselves more assertively. Where is the Michael O'Leary of railways?

ICC in the dock

There are worrying signs that the international criminal court's approach to justice may be jeopardising peace in Africa

Hitler's myth-maker

Leni Riefenstahl's apologists say she was a pure aesthete who cared nothing for politics. But it was her indifference to how her talents were used that made her so repugnant

What Simon says

Simon Barnes's reflections on sport's "meaning" too often come at the expense of his subjects. He should get back to writing about what he sees, not what he thinks

Between the lines

Jason Cowley

Inspector Morse is one of Britain's most successful literary television adaptations. I first watched it while grieving for my father, and will always associate it with that time

Private view

Ben Lewis

In their desire to expose the hidden meanings in everyday objects, the surrealists blurred the distinction between fine and applied art. Today's curators are doing much the same

Theatre by numbers

Any play about science or scientists has to get across the excitement and importance of its subject without turning into a lecture. How have writers have tackled this problem?

Brussels diary

Manneken Pis

Peter Mandelson is a star in a lacklustre EU commission. But his emnity with Gordon Brown is weakening his position. The chancellor himself also has a lot to learn about Brussels PR

Inefficient markets

Michael Prest

Defenders of private equity say it improves efficiency, creates jobs and offers better returns to investors. But it runs against the trend for more accountability

Washington watch

Tumbler

Watch out for George Tenet's new book, which threatens to "take the lid off" Rumsfeld's Pentagon. Plus, why Britain's new ambassador to the US may not be warmly welcomed

Matters of taste

Alex Renton

Homemade taramasalata is nothing like the vile shop-bought stuff. So when I came across smoked wild cod's roe the other day, my conscience held me up for just a second

Rivers of Babylon

Nibras Kazimi

Three months into the "surge," barely half the promised American troops have arrived, and most have been deployed in Shia areas. That doesn't stop the Sunnis complaining

These islands

Michael Fry

Edinburgh has reinvented itself many times, all the while remaining a stolid, bourgeois place. As Scotland goes to the polls, could another renewal be around the corner?

Letters

prospect

Will's words

William Skidelsky

Enigmas & puzzles

Ian Stewart

In fact

prospect