THE END OF WAR HOW PEACE WILECHANGEUSROBERTCOOPERp:

SPECCIE BLUES IANBURUMAp*; BLOOMING SHAKESPEARF ACGRAYLING

COVER STORY Robert Cooper asks what will peace do to us, now that war is over

For centuries, we have been shaped by war. But peace is now the natural condition of the developed world. This will have far-reaching political and social effects: as the state weakens, there will be less centralisation, but there will also be less solidarity. Politics is cut down to size and the power of women grows. PAGE 22

SPECIAL REPORT 52 Science and government ANTHONY BEVINS What should governments do in the face of inadequate or conflicting scientific advice? Are there lessons from the BSE and GM food panics?

REVIEWS 56 The Habsburg dilemma JOHN GRAY Ernest Gellner was often wrong—but a great polemicist.

58 Slowing the clock TOM WILKIE Can modern science help us slow down ageing?

59 The benefits of congestion KENNETH T JACKSON An awesome survey of cities.

62 Who calls the tune? TOM ROSENTHAL Why do opera directors too often treat audiences with contempt?

REGULARS 4 41

news & curiosities the prisoner

66

choices

6

letters

8

modern times

JEREMY CLARKE

An unusual bookshop.

9

pic of the month

21

these islands

PETER WAYNE Don’t shoot the organist. 67

45

digest JOHN O’FARRELL

babel

The Belfast mafia.

PICO IYER

The case for I.udd.

5 1 letter from

Mecklenburg

FREDERICK STUDEMANN

SCHULENBURG

70

crossword

71

brussels diary

The. EU and Mossad.

Burying Germany’s past. 72

JOHN LLOYD

Anew regular column

55

starts its journey in Dublin. the list previous convictions

BELLA THOMAS

Paedophilia mad.

64 Acting in exile SARAH CAUDWELL Are the French more serious about theatre?

MY STORY Ian Buruma: How I fell out of love with the Spectator

As an Anglophile, I felt proud to be part of the Spectator set, but under the cheekiness was a kind of complacency. PAGE 42

FORTHCOMING • Ronald Dworkin on genetics and justice • Anne Applebaum, thinking about her generation • Michael Hoiman on Thabo Mbeki and the African renaissance

DO GOVERNMENTS KNOW

ENOUGH TO GOVERN? APROSPECTANDESRCDEBATEWITH GEOFFMULGAN,DAVIDWILLETTS ANDPAULORMERODON29THAPRIL. TOORDERYOURTICKETSEEPAGE20

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PROSPECT April 199!) 3