A specialist consultancy providing bespoke advice and creative solutions for complex cultural, ethical, and religious issues in contemporary geopolitics.
Oxford House Research publishes weekly briefing papers on topical and global issues authored by associates and a range of external contributors. Members receive these by email each week.
On 23 June 2016, 52% of the British electorate voted in a referendum to leave the EU. After four years of tense negotiation and heated debate, of grandstanding and brinkmanship in Westminster and Brussels (and in the Parliaments of EU member states), the terms of the UK’s withdrawal were confirmed. The land border between Northern […]
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It was late-August 1976 when I first visited Durham Cathedral, poet Sir Walter Scott’s ‘Half church of God, half castle ‘gainst the Scot’. The pillars of the Norman nave (built 1093-1133) took my breath away. As round as they are tall (6.6m), with deep cut geometrical patterns, the pillars seem to set a standard for […]
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‘Precision drill and bands playing stirring music all combine to make Changing of the Guard one of London’s most popular attractions’ epitomising ‘the pomp and military ceremony for which Britain is famous.’ So, states one enthusiastic tourist website. Buckingham Palace’s website is predictably more restrained and precise: ‘Changing of the Guard is one of the […]
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I was sent these words by Pope Francis (b. 1936; r. 2013 -) as a Christmas message from a friend in Beijing. Both the source and the sentiment may seem surprising to some: Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit; the sun does not shine on itself and […]
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In the history of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), Xi Jinping (b. 1953) is the first paramount leader on record to give prominence to religion in word and policy. In a watershed speech given in May 2016, President Xi called for the ‘sinicization’ of religion in China led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) […]
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We live in a violent world. On a cold November night five years ago (Friday, 15 November 2015), three simultaneous attacks in Paris claimed the lives of one hundred and thirty French citizens. The perpetrators invoked the name of ‘Allah’ and boasted their spurious Islamic credentials. Ninety died and a hundred were injured while enjoying […]
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The clamor around narrative building can be deafening – and seductive. ‘What do the majority say?’ has a healthy democratic ring to it. But care is needed. We can believe what is wrong. I am reminded of a poignant tale by the Lebanese American author Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931): Once there ruled in the distant city […]
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In the self-help book Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope, and Repair (2013), Californian author Anne Lamott, writes: ‘Maturity is the ability to live with unresolved problems.’ Faced by the devastation of broken promises, failure, pain, and cultural angst, advice on how to live with the ‘unresolved’ sells well. To the tidy-minded, over-confident and despairing […]
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There has been a visceral sense of relief here in Ireland at a Biden victory in the recent US presidential election. Ireland has always held America and American Presidents in high esteem. This was eroded during the presidency of George W. Bush (b. 1946; Pres. 2001-09) and has been damaged further during President Trump’s time […]
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This is the first of three ‘Weekly Briefings’ on my experiences teaching and advising in China on the ‘rule of law’ and ‘civil society’. In this first ‘Briefing’, I reflect on my first five years of visiting China, from 2008-12. On 15 May 2008, the Great Earthquake of Sichuan Province hit Southwest China. At almost […]
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