Military history

Soviet infantry advancing supported by T-34 tanks

Letters

What is the best tank of all time? 

Readers of The War Room have their say 

11 min read

Portrait of the author

By Invitation

Kosovo shows that Donald Trump’s Gaza plan can work, writes Petrit Selimi

The Balkan state’s former foreign minister on what international “governing boards” need to get right

5 min read

Illustration of Russian, American, Chinese and European soldiers climbing ladders into the clouds

International

Can the West survive an age of brinkmanship?

It is time to relearn the cold-war arts of escalation management

5 min read

Handlers from Airship Management Services race toward a Skyship 600 blimp

Science & technology

Armed forces are using 18th-century technology to spy on enemies

High-altitude balloons are surprisingly useful in modern conflicts

5 min read

A black and white photograph of a Tiger Tank at the Eastern Front in 1943.

International

The War Room newsletter: The best tanks of all time

In a bonus edition of our defence newsletter, Richard Cockett examines an icon from the battlefield

5 min read

Graphic detail

A short history of the Koreas, in eight maps

To understand the two countries, you have to understand that they are one nation

6 min read

The illustration shows China, Russia, and the U.S. holding strong umbrellas in a storm, while NATO’s umbrella is broken and ineffective.

International

Cold war deterrence doesn’t work any more

Why the West is finding it so hard to deter China and Russia

5 min read

Illustration of Mannerheim statue on a blue background

Europe

What Finland could teach Ukraine about war and peace

President Alexander Stubb argues Ukraine can repeat Finland’s success

5 min read

Middle East & Africa

A haunting new view of Assad’s brutality in Syria

It could one day be used in trials against members of the regime

2 min read

An illustration with a long conference table with a microphone and a glass at each seat and flower arrangements down the centre in the middle of a war zone surrounded by tanks and fighter jets flying overhead.

International

The wrong way to end a war

Dark lessons from history that explain Vladimir Putin’s “peacemaking”

5 min read

By Invitation

Margaret MacMillan on the promise—and perils—of wartime summits

Leaders’ set-pieces have become more common, but not always more productive

5 min read

A photo collage with The Economist front page from 1945 and a picture of Japan's surrender.

International

The end of the second world war

How The Economist reported on the war, week by week

2 min read