Jack Dickens
LightNews LightNews
banner
jackfdickens.bsky.social
Jack Dickens
@jackfdickens.bsky.social
150 followers 170 following 58 posts
Historian & journalist exploring empires past and present. Commissioning Editor at Engelsberg Ideas | Email: [email protected]
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
jackfdickens.bsky.social
Jack Dickens @jackfdickens.bsky.social · Nov 14
I am delighted to announce that my chapter on espionage in Central Asia and the Great Game has been published as part of this wonderful collection, ‘Spies in History’.

It will be up on @engelsbergideas.bsky.social soon. A big thank you to @paullay.bsky.social and Lars Molin for the opportunity.
Reposted by Jack Dickens
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
European leaders must rebalance, rather than replace, the bonds that tie them to the United States. Even in the age of Trump, Washington remains an indispensable partner.

Why Europe and America need each other | Lawrence Freedman
(@ldfreedman.bsky.social)

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/why...
Why Europe and America need each other
European leaders must rebalance, rather than replace, the bonds that tie them to the United States. Even in the age of Trump, Washington remains an indispensable partner.
engelsbergideas.com
January 28, 2026 at 10:28 AM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
mpolymer1.bsky.social
My latest, in @engelsbergideas.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.bsky.social Engelsberg Ideas @engelsbergideas.bsky.social · 5d
For decades, American power was underpinned by ideals that inspired allies and adversaries alike. But the 'City on the Hill' now shines less brightly.

After American exceptionalism | Marc Polymeropoulos (@mpolymer1.bsky.social)

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/aft...
After American exceptionalism
For decades, American power was underpinned by ideals that inspired allies and adversaries alike. But the 'City on the Hill' now shines less brightly.
engelsbergideas.com
January 27, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
Britain’s interwar rearmament shows that military strength depends as much on industrial and economic strategy as on sheer spending.

The fourth arm of defence | @duncanweldon.bsky.social

engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-f...
The fourth arm of defence
Britain’s interwar rearmament shows that military strength depends as much on industrial and economic strategy as on sheer spending.
engelsbergideas.com
January 28, 2026 at 11:52 AM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
For decades, American power was underpinned by ideals that inspired allies and adversaries alike. But the 'City on the Hill' now shines less brightly.

After American exceptionalism | Marc Polymeropoulos (@mpolymer1.bsky.social)

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/aft...
After American exceptionalism
For decades, American power was underpinned by ideals that inspired allies and adversaries alike. But the 'City on the Hill' now shines less brightly.
engelsbergideas.com
January 27, 2026 at 10:07 AM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
The price of Europe’s defence | @quantumstrategy.bsky.social

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/wha...
The price of Europe's defence
Europe’s dependence on the US for its defence may be coming to an end. Rapid military spending, the replacement of US assets, and taking on the nuclear umbrella will require hard economic decisions ac...
engelsbergideas.com
January 22, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
asls.org.uk
@alastairbenn.bsky.social is joined by Prof Leo Damrosch – author of Storyteller: The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson – to explore RLS’s life & legacy, including one of his most enduring literary creations: Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde

via @engelsbergideas.bsky.social
#C19 💙📚
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnJ2...
The strange case of Robert Louis Stevenson
YouTube video by Engelsberg Ideas
www.youtube.com
January 16, 2026 at 4:18 PM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
The Kennedy Center without the arts | Elisabeth Braw

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The Kennedy Center without the arts
Donald Trump’s reordering of the Kennedy Center illustrates a broader truth: when political leaders imprint their signature on cultural institutions, artistry finds a way to escape.
engelsbergideas.com
January 20, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
alastairbenn.bsky.social
Learned and far‑sighted: Daniel Peris on Russia’s hegemonic destiny for @engelsbergideas.bsky.social:
January 21, 2026 at 12:04 PM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
Russia’s imperial overstretch | Daniel Peris

engelsbergideas.com/essays/russi...
Russia's imperial overstretch
As a vast, economically challenged and multi-ethnic polity, the Russian state is chronically overstretched. Its struggle to establish equilibrium points towards hegemonic decline.
engelsbergideas.com
January 21, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
With strategic imagination, Denmark could engage the US to forge a mutually beneficial path for Greenland's future.

Greenland shows the limits and opportunities of Danish statecraft | Joshua Trevino

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/gre...
Greenland shows the limits and opportunities of Danish statecraft
American interest in Greenland confronts Denmark with a choice it has faced before. With strategic imagination, it could engage the US to forge a mutually beneficial path for the island’s future.
engelsbergideas.com
January 21, 2026 at 11:33 AM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
Unlocking new hydrogen fuel technologies could unleash a transformation in warfare as profound as any witnessed over the past five centuries, with far-reaching strategic implications for NATO and the war in Ukraine.

Hydrogen warfare | Mara Balasa

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/hyd...
Hydrogen warfare
Unlocking new hydrogen fuel technologies could unleash a transformation in warfare as profound as any witnessed over the past five centuries, with far-reaching strategic implications for NATO and the ...
engelsbergideas.com
January 22, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
In his 1904 novel 'Nostromo', Joseph Conrad imagined a world shaped by distant financiers and imperial ambition, anticipating a century of American global power.

Conrad’s American century | Morten Høi Jensen

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/con...
Conrad's American century
In his 1904 novel 'Nostromo', Joseph Conrad imagined a world shaped by distant financiers and imperial ambition, anticipating a century of American global power.
engelsbergideas.com
January 22, 2026 at 9:50 AM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
The flaws in Mark Carney’s new world order | @george17.bsky.social

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The flaws in Mark Carney's new world order
The Canadian prime minister is right to stress that middle powers must adapt to a new world order. Yet his rhetorical appeal to the heroism of anti-Communist dissidents, even as he builds closer ties ...
engelsbergideas.com
January 21, 2026 at 5:24 PM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
csns-uk.bsky.social
📝 NEW | "A neutered and boxed-in Iran consumed by internal affairs serves the Gulf perfectly."

In his latest essay for @engelsbergideas.bsky.social, Dr Shiraz Maher examines the fate of Iran's uprising in light of the troubled history of the Arab Spring

engelsbergideas.com/essays/is-th...
Is the Islamic Republic on borrowed time?
The troubled history of the Arab Spring sheds light on the fate of Iran’s uprising. It explains why the Islamic Republic continues to survive waves of mass protest, yet may ultimately be approaching a...
engelsbergideas.com
January 20, 2026 at 5:17 PM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
The troubled history of the Arab Spring sheds light on the fate of Iran’s uprising. It explains why the Islamic Republic continues to survive waves of mass protest, but may be approaching a tipping point.

Is the Islamic Republic on borrowed time? | Shiraz Maher

engelsbergideas.com/essays/is-th...
Is the Islamic Republic on borrowed time?
The troubled history of the Arab Spring sheds light on the fate of Iran’s uprising. It explains why the Islamic Republic continues to survive waves of mass protest, yet may ultimately be approaching a...
engelsbergideas.com
January 20, 2026 at 12:01 PM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
alastairbenn.bsky.social
Lovely bit of micro-history: a 1926 BBC broadcast panicked Britain. Daniel Marc Janes for @engelsbergideas.bsky.social:
January 20, 2026 at 11:36 AM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
The first great radio hoax | Daniel Marc Janes

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The first great radio hoax
In January 1926, a satirical broadcast by Father Ronald Knox sparked panic across Britain. Listeners mistook his parody of an impending revolution for real riots in the capital – a striking reminder o...
engelsbergideas.com
January 20, 2026 at 10:56 AM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
alastairbenn.bsky.social
A fascinating snapshot from Felice Basbøll for @engelsbergideas.bsky.social on the complex bonds between Greenland and Denmark.

engelsbergideas.com/portraits/kn...
Knud Rasmussen and the making of modern Greenland
The explorer Knud Rasmussen helped define Denmark’s Arctic ambitions while documenting Inuit culture at the very moment it was being transformed.
engelsbergideas.com
January 19, 2026 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
The capitalists, industrialists and entrepreneurs of early modern Britain combined ambition, ingenuity and moral compromise to transform the economic world.

Britain’s ruthless rise | Samuel Rubinstein

engelsbergideas.com/reviews/brit...
Britain’s ruthless rise
Early-modern Britain’s capitalists, industrialists, and entrepreneurs combined ambition, ingenuity, and moral compromise to transform the economic world.
engelsbergideas.com
January 19, 2026 at 3:35 PM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
The explorer Knud Rasmussen helped define Denmark’s Arctic ambitions while documenting Inuit culture at the very moment it was being transformed.

Knud Rasmussen and the making of modern Greenland | Felice Basbøll

engelsbergideas.com/portraits/kn...
Knud Rasmussen and the making of modern Greenland
The explorer Knud Rasmussen helped define Denmark’s Arctic ambitions while documenting Inuit culture at the very moment it was being transformed.
engelsbergideas.com
January 19, 2026 at 12:41 PM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
The woman who made the Tudors | @katherineharvey.bsky.social

engelsbergideas.com/reviews/the-...
The woman who made the Tudors
Margaret Beaufort, grandmother of Henry VIII, used her iron resolve to lay the foundations of Tudor England.
engelsbergideas.com
January 16, 2026 at 9:40 AM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
The invention of Singapore | Nic Allen

engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-i...
The invention of Singapore
In the early 19th century, Britain’s Thomas Stamford Raffles fused Enlightenment pragmatism, free trade, and secular education to create the foundations of modern Singapore.
engelsbergideas.com
January 16, 2026 at 9:43 AM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
engelsbergideas.bsky.social
Genoa 1922: a postwar reset that went wrong | Oliver Yule-Smith

engelsbergideas.com/essays/genoa...
Genoa 1922: a postwar reset that went wrong
The Conference of Genoa, 1922, promised the rebirth of a continent in ruins. Its failure offers a timely warning.
engelsbergideas.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Reposted by Jack Dickens
jackfdickens.bsky.social
It was fascinating to talk to the brilliant Charlie Laderman about US foreign policy from the Monroe Doctrine to the Donroe Doctrine:
January 15, 2026 at 12:27 PM
jackfdickens.bsky.social
It was fascinating to talk to the brilliant Charlie Laderman about US foreign policy from the Monroe Doctrine to the Donroe Doctrine:
January 15, 2026 at 12:27 PM