The Sunday Times BestsellerA new assessment of the West’s colonial recordIn the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet empire in 1989, many believed that we had arrived at the ‘End of History’ – that the global dominance of liberal democracy had been secured forever.Now however, with Russia rattling its sabre on the borders of Europe and China rising to challenge the post-1945 world order, the liberal West faces major threats.These t...

The Sunday Times BestsellerA new assessment of the West’s colonial recordIn the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet empire in 1989, many believed that we had arrived at the ‘End of History’ – that the global dominance of liberal democracy had been secured forever.Now however, with Russia rattling its sabre on the borders of Europe and China rising to challenge the post-1945 world order, the liberal West faces major threats.These t...

In an increasingly polarized age, culture wars are everywhere. They are often dismissed as superficial or confected disagreements designed to distract us from more important issues. Is this true, or are they actually more fundamental than that?In this thoughtful and passionate intervention, renowned theologian and moral philosopher Nigel Biggar argues that the 'culture wars' are in fact political and moral debates that cut to the very quick of some of the most substantial questions...

For Christians living as a persecuted minority in the Middle East, the question of whether their allegiance should lie with their faith or with the national communities they live in is a difficult one. This collection of essays aims to reconcile this conflict of allegiance by looking at the biblical vision of citizenship and showing that Christians can live and work as citizens of the state without compromising their beliefs and make a constructive contribution to the life of the countries...

Pacifism is popular. Many hold that war is unnecessary, since peaceful means of resolving conflict are always available, if only we had the will to look for them. Or they believe that war is wicked, essentially involving hatred of the enemy and carelessness of human life. Or they posit the absolute right of innocent individuals not to be deliberately killed, making it impossible to justify war in practice. Peace, however, is not simple. Peace for some can leave others at peace to perpetrat...

Must the notion of a right be individualistic, subverting the common good? Are rights ethically fundamental, impervious to changing circumstances?In Rights, Nigel Biggar draws upon wide resources in intellectual history, legal philosophy, moral philosophy and human rights literature to argue that we should abandon right-fundamentalism in favour of a richer public discourse about ethics.

In an increasingly polarized age, culture wars are everywhere. They are often criticized as superficial or confected disagreements designed to distract us from more important issues. Is this true, or are they rather more fundamental than that?In this thoughtful and passionate intervention, renowned theologian and moral philosopher Nigel Biggar argues that 'culture wars' are in fact political and moral debates that cut to the very quick of some of the most substantial questions of o...

In the world’s most developed democracies, anxiety about the future of democracy is palpable. The tension between moral aspiration and moral despair has reached a point of crisis. Christian realism arose during a similar time of crisis, when Reinhold Niebuhr used the insights of the Christian tradition to interpret the clash between democracy and totalitarianism.Beginning with Robin Lovin’s account of Christian realism as a nuanced blend of theological, moral, and political realisms...

The nation-state is here to stay. Thirty years ago it was fashionable to predict its imminent demise, but the sudden break-up of the Soviet Union in the 1990s unshackled long-repressed nationalisms and generated a host of new states. The closer integration of the European Union has given intra-national nationalisms a new lease of life, confirming the viability of small nation-states under a supra-national umbrella--after all, if Ireland and Iceland, then why not Scotland and Catalonia? And...

Natural law theory has been enjoying a significant revival in recent times. Led by Germain Grisez in the USA and John Finnis in the UK, one school of thinkers has been articulating a highly developed system of natural law built upon a sophisticated account of practical reasoning and a rich and flexible understanding of the human good. However, long-standing prejudices against old-style natural law among moral philosophers and Protestant ethicists, together with the new theory's appropriati...

Are natural rights 'nonsense on stilts', as Jeremy Bentham memorably put it? Must the very notion of a right be individualistic, subverting the common good? Should the right against torture be absolute, even though the heavens fall? Are human rights universal or merely expressions of Western neo-imperial arrogance? Are rights ethically fundamental, proudly impervious to changing circumstances? Should judges strive to extend the reach of rights from civil Hamburg to anarchical Basra? Should...

A Telegraph Book of the Year 2025'Compelling and timely' Tirthankar Roy'Essential reading' David EltisMany now claim that Western countries should pay reparations to former colonies for the lasting damage they caused, especially through slavery. Why is this claim being made now? How far does it make sense? And, more generally, how can historic wrongs be righted?Reparations removes the sloga...