The Sunday Times BestsellerA new assessment of the West’s colonial recordIn the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet empire in 1989, many believed that we had arrived at the ‘End of History’ – that the global dominance of liberal democracy had been secured forever.Now however, with Russia rattling its sabre on the borders of Europe and China rising to challenge the post-1945 world order, the liberal West faces major threats.These t...

The nation-state is here to stay. Thirty years ago it was fashionable to predict its imminent demise, but the sudden break-up of the Soviet Union in the 1990s unshackled long-repressed nationalisms and generated a host of new states. The closer integration of the European Union has given intra-national nationalisms a new lease of life, confirming the viability of small nation-states under a supra-national umbrella--after all, if Ireland and Iceland, then why not Scotland and Catalonia? And...

How do we frame decisions to use or abstain from military force? Who should do the killing? Do we need new paradigms to guide the use of force? And what does “victory” mean in contemporary conflict?In many ways, these are timeless questions. But they should be revisited in light of changing circumstances in the twenty-first century. The post–Cold War, post-9/11 world is one of contested and fragmented sovereignty: contested because the norm of territorial integrity has shed some of...

The just war tradition is central to the practice of international relations, in questions of war, peace, and the conduct of war in the contemporary world, but surprisingly few scholars have questioned the authority of the tradition as a source of moral guidance for modern statecraft. Just War: Authority, Tradition, and Practice brings together many of the most important contemporary writers on just war to consider questions of authority surrounding the just war tradition....

In an increasingly polarized age, culture wars are everywhere. They are often dismissed as superficial or confected disagreements designed to distract us from more important issues. Is this true, or are they actually more fundamental than that?In this thoughtful and passionate intervention, renowned theologian and moral philosopher Nigel Biggar argues that the 'culture wars' are in fact political and moral debates that cut to the very quick of some of the most substantial questions...

A Telegraph Book of the Year 2025'Compelling and timely' Tirthankar Roy'Essential reading' David EltisMany now claim that Western countries should pay reparations to former colonies for the lasting damage they caused, especially through slavery. Why is this claim being made now? How far does it make sense? And, more generally, how can historic wrongs be righted?Reparations removes the sloga...

In recent years it's become fashionable to tell a certain kind of story about Britain. At its least offensive, this story emphasises the worst aspects of Britain's past and neglects the best. At its most damaging, it denies, demeans or distorts the very fabric of our collective inheritance.In Our Islands' Story, Nigel Biggar and Robert Tombs aim to tell a better story about Britain. Though not without fault, they argue, Britain's history is rich in achievements of enduring...

Must the notion of a right be individualistic, subverting the common good? Are rights ethically fundamental, impervious to changing circumstances?In Rights, Nigel Biggar draws upon wide resources in intellectual history, legal philosophy, moral philosophy and human rights literature to argue that we should abandon right-fundamentalism in favour of a richer public discourse about ethics.

Are natural rights 'nonsense on stilts', as Jeremy Bentham memorably put it? Must the very notion of a right be individualistic, subverting the common good? Should the right against torture be absolute, even though the heavens fall? Are human rights universal or merely expressions of Western neo-imperial arrogance? Are rights ethically fundamental, proudly impervious to changing circumstances? Should judges strive to extend the reach of rights from civil Hamburg to anarchical Basra? Should...

In the world’s most developed democracies, anxiety about the future of democracy is palpable. The tension between moral aspiration and moral despair has reached a point of crisis. Christian realism arose during a similar time of crisis, when Reinhold Niebuhr used the insights of the Christian tradition to interpret the clash between democracy and totalitarianism.Beginning with Robin Lovin’s account of Christian realism as a nuanced blend of theological, moral, and political realisms...

For Christians living as a persecuted minority in the Middle East, the question of whether their allegiance should lie with their faith or with the national communities they live in is a difficult one. This collection of essays aims to reconcile this conflict of allegiance by looking at the biblical vision of citizenship and showing that Christians can live and work as citizens of the state without compromising their beliefs and make a constructive contribution to the life of the countries...

Pacifism is popular. Many hold that war is unnecessary, since peaceful means of resolving conflict are always available, if only we had the will to look for them. Or they believe that war is wicked, essentially involving hatred of the enemy and carelessness of human life. Or they posit the absolute right of innocent individuals not to be deliberately killed, making it impossible to justify war in practice. Peace, however, is not simple. Peace for some can leave others at peace to perpetrat...