Comparisons are for the most part unhelpful but there is one point worth thinking over, says a man who served in Thatcher's first cabinet

Yes—though obstacles of all kinds seem to stand in the way

Great power diplomacy has its limits

The Asian crisis is going to be worse for the west than even the pessimists imagine. But Asian values are not discredited

Despite its current problems Japan still wields huge economic power. But the country should reject an appeal to use that clout to rebuild the international order. It ain't broke...

The Foreign Office has not grasped how utterly the world has changed over the past decade. David Howell, chairman of the Commons' foreign affairs committee, argues that Britain's interests lie...