The Grand Strategy of the Habsburg Empire by A. Wess Mitchell

Marc Pierini Visiting Scholar at Carnegie Europeįor anyone who has spent time in diplomacy or is keen on foreign policy, William J. This podcast sheds light on them in an entertaining and enlightening way. Since I started working more on foresight, I can’t get enough of learning how our own tool to do it-the mind-is full of trapdoors and halls of mirrors. Think 1984 meets chef Jamie Oliver: in 2040, the food police control our intake of meat, sugar, and fat and punish those who go off track. Nos derniers festins(Our Last Feasts) by Chantal Pelletier.

Whose biography is this, Zweig’s or pre-EU Europe’s? Both died shortly after the book’s publication, but they were wonderful while they lasted. Florence Gaub Deputy Director of the European Union Institute for Security Studies

It is long, satisfying, and always extremely relevant. Now I select one or sometimes even two France Culture programs a day, usually a scientist, politician, philosopher, or author exploring one subject (sometimes newsy, sometimes not) for a full hour or more. I used to listen to BBC Newshour podcasts, but gave up because the European coverage is getting poorer by the day. Reading Marías with his almost musical cadence is like being carried by a strong river current: if you just leave the daily news behind and surrender, you are rewarded with a good story.įrance Culture podcasts. A long, winding novel about a woman married to a spy, exploring our capacity to deal with uncertainty, ambiguity, insignificance, and (self-)deception. It is impossible to read this book without drawing parallels with the EU, although strangely the author never once alludes to this.īerta Islaby Javier Marías.

This book tries to explain why the Habsburg Empire, as a grand power surrounded by jealous rivals, managed to survive for so long-and concludes that the Habsburg secret was to always play for time, foster friendships, rely on buffers, and delay or possibly avoid conflicts. The Grand Strategy of the Habsburg Empireby A. Caroline de Gruyter European Affairs Correspondent for NRC Handelsblad

The Grand Strategy of the Habsburg Empire by A. Wess Mitchell