History of the Present

5 days ago | timothygartonash.substack.com | Timothy Garton Ash

History of the Present (week ending Monday 2 June 2025)Shortly after 9 PM Central European Time on Sunday 1 June, I watched on Polish television as the liberal, internationalist, pro-European candidate for president, Rafał Trzaskowski, declared to a delighted crowd of supporters that he had won the election and that with him 'all Poland' had triumphed. As the night went by, it turned out this was not to be.

6 days ago | timothygartonash.substack.com | Timothy Garton Ash

This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts

3 weeks ago | timothygartonash.substack.com | Timothy Garton Ash

History of the Present (5 days ending 14 May 2025)A poem bequeathed us by the epically gloomy Canadian seer-singer Leonard Cohen ends with the words: “oh and one more thing / you aren’t going to like / what comes after / America”. As we pass the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war in Europe, every day brings further evidence that a remarkably long-lived US-led international order is over. Everyone is now scrambling to work out what might succeed it. A new multi-polar order?

4 weeks ago | timothygartonash.substack.com | Timothy Garton Ash

History of the Present (9 Days to 9 May 2025)This interview with Frank Dürr of Arte pretty much sums up where I think we are in Europe today, at the beginning of a new era…(click on link - conversation in English, German subtitles)https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/121620-063-A/timothy-garton-ash-der-westen-als-geopolitischer-akteur-existiert-nicht-mehr/History of the Present is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

1 month ago | timothygartonash.substack.com | Timothy Garton Ash

This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts