In an increasingly dangerous world, the role of intelligence services has never been more crucial. Sweden and the world face ever more alarming conflicts.Covert activities, whether in the form of subversion, disinformation or covert operations, are vital in the international game of power. It has never been more vital to understand the value of the role that intelligence services play in the fields of diplomacy, statesmanship and war.This highly topical collection of essays brings together intelligence scholars and officials from the US, Britain, Canada and Sweden in order to assess how information, both classified and public, has impacted conflicts from the analogue past to the digital present. It offers a discussion on how intelligence services today are carried out to support or undermine international security and tries to determine what is good practice for political leaders anddecision- makers when they apply the lessons of history to understand the world today.

Machiavelli’s observation on leaders’ challenge to balance power is just as relevant in our time – with renewed military, economic and cultural conflicts – as it was in 16th century Florence. China’s growth, Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the increasing political and economic salience of the Global South have made the importance of competent leadership in political governance an ever more relevant issue.This anthology examines the challenges for leadership and statecraft in a progressively complex world and considers the question of how we can create political elites that are capable of safely guiding the West through the many challenges we face. By ensuring that both our past and present are taken into consideration, world-leading researchers and writers investigate how ideas of leadership have developed through history to give us a greater understanding of statecraft – and of what skills and organisations are needed to run small states, large empires and everything in between.

How has the idea of liberty developed and evolved over the centuries? What does freedom mean for us today and what do we need to do to preserve the freedoms for which generations of men and women fought and even gave their lives? Liberty is indispensable to flourishing societies the world over. Its story contains everything from our ancestors’ long quest to establish freedom of thought and freedom of religion, to the modern fight against authoritarian politics and tyrants everywhere. In this anthology leading academics, writers and historians explore what liberty has meant through the ages and reflect on this great drama of freedom at work.

Technology shadows us from the moment we are born to the moment we die. Our story cannot be told without telling the story of technology, without understanding both how we mould it to our ever-changing purposes, and how, in turn, technology shapes our deepest needs and desires. In this anthology of essays, world-leading historians, academics and writers trace technology’s influence on industry and the economy, warfare and espionage, culture and communication, and ponder what the future holds in the continuously evolving relationship between man and technology. Contributing writers:Bruce Anderson, Clive Aslet,David J Betz, Ananyo Bhattacharya,Elisabeth Braw, Jimena Canales,Armand D’Angour, John Darlington,Maria Golia, Samuel Gregg,Katja Hoyer, Tim Jenkins, Andrew Keen,Alexander Lee, Richard J. Aldrich &Christopher Moran, Daniel T. Potts,Suzanne Raine, Joshua Rovner,Brendan Simms, Constance Simms,Nick Spencer, Hew Strachan,Helen Thompson, Sharon Weinbergerand Andrew Wilton.

In this anthology, 25 leading scholars from across the globe describe and analyse how different societies have handled crisis. In ancient Greek, a crisis refers not necessarily to a catastrophic situation but to an opportunity for great change. Edited by Scottish commentator Iain Martin and Swedish historian Mattias Hessérus, Society in Crisis takes this classical understanding of the term to heart as it acknowledges the many ways in which humans have made the decision to reorient their societies as a result of crisis. Essayists include: Clive Aslet, Philip Bobbitt, Peter Burke, Gillian Clark, Jonathan Fenby, Peter Frankopan, Jessica Frazier, Lawrence Freedman, Matthew Goodwin, Andrew Graham-Dixon, Johan Hakelius, Vanessa Harding, Tom Holland, Mark Honigsbaum, Alexander Lee, Tim Marshall, Lincoln Paine, Iskander Rehman, Donald Sassoon, David Seedhouse, Graham Stewart, Hew Strachan, Helen Thompson, Richard Whatmore and Adrian Wooldridge.

Petroleum is the most valuable commodity in the world and an enormous source of wealth for those who sell it, transport it and transform it for its many uses. As the engine of modern economies and industries, governments everywhere want to assure steady supplies. Without it, their economies would grind to a standstill. Since petroleum is not evenly distributed around the world, powerful countries want to be sure they have access to supplies and markets, whatever the cost to the environment or to human life. Coveting the petroleum of another country is against the rules of international law — yet if accomplished surreptitiously, under the cover of some laudable action, it's a bonanza. This is the basis of "the petroleum game," where countries jockey for control of the world's oil and natural gas. It's an ongoing game of rivalry among global and regional countries, each pursuing its own interests and using whatever tools, allies and organizations offer possible advantage. John Foster has spent his working life as an oil economist. He understands the underlying role played by oil and gas in international affairs. He identifies the hidden issues behind many of the conflicts in the world today. He explores military interventions (Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria), tensions around international waterways (Persian Gulf, South China Sea), and use of sanctions or political interference related to petroleum trade (Iran, Russia, Venezuela). He illuminates the petroleum-related reasons for government actions usually camouflaged and rarely discussed publicly by Western politicians or media.Petroleum geopolitics are complex. When clashes and conflicts occur, they are multi-dimensional. This book ferrets out pieces of the multi-faceted puzzle in the dark world of petroleum and fits them together.

In 1994 a group of Australian UN peacekeepers, made up of soldiers and army medical personnel, was sent to Rwanda under a United Nations mandate to help restore order to the war-torn country. These Australians would be exposed to a lack of humanity they were not prepared for and found hard to fathom. On 22nd April 1995, the daily horror and tragedy they had witnessed escalated out of control. At a displaced persons' camp in Kibeho, in full view of the Australian soldiers, over 4,000 unarmed men, women and children died in a hail of bullets, grenades and machete blades at the hands of the Rwandan Patriotic Army. Constrained by the UN peacekeeping Rules of Engagement, these Australians could only watch helplessly and try to assist the wounded under the gaze of the trigger-happy killers. Pure Massacre is a record of what happened during this peacekeeping mission. Kevin "Irish" O'Halloran, a Platoon Sergeant at the time, stresses the weaknesses of the UN charter and what happens when "good men do nothing". He pulls together the perspectives of those Australian soldiers who served in Rwanda at this time. Pure Massacre gives a new and personal voice to the Kibeho Massacre. It takes a special type of bravery, discipline and compassion to do what these soldiers did. Little did they know, when the second tour of Rwanda was over, that they would be the highest decorated UN peacekeeping contingent since the Korean War. For many, their service in Rwanda would come with a personal toll. No Australians died during and immediately after the massacre at Kibeho, but as Pure Massacre testifies, the suffering and tragedy is embedded in their memories.