international analysis and commentary

Author

John L. Harper

John L. Harper is the Kenneth H. Keller Professor of American Foreign Policy at SAIS Europe in Bologna. He is the author of "The Cold War" (Oxford University Press, 2011; Italian edition, "La Guerra fredda: storia di un mondo in bilico", published by Il Mulino, 2013, 2017).

The elusive Concert of Powers

John L. Harper
The idea never loses its appeal. Yet its time never seems to arrive. Ever since the definitive collapse of the 19th century Concert of Europe in 1914, statesmen and commentators have proposed something similar: an informal association of…

Berlin Wall questions

John L. Harper
Aspenia Online: Can you think of historical precedents, or parallels, in which a country builds a barrier (and maintains it for three decades) in order mostly to keep its own people in, rather than some external threat out? The North Korean…