Recent geopolitical upheavals reveal that our rules-based international order is far more fragile than we might care to admit. When the raw logic of power reasserts itself, we are forced to ask: are we witnessing cracks in the ‘thin veneer’ of civilisation?
This new blog post, published to accompany the launch of my new book, explores how the warnings of thinkers like Hobbes and Rousseau are deeply relevant today. It argues that civilisation isn’t a given, but a deliberate, constant effort to hold back the ever-proximate breakdown of order.
Read the full piece here to explore how these underlying forces shape our fragile stability: https://cambridgeblog.org/2026/02/the-state-of-nature-historical-fable-haunting-future/
For those interested in diving deeper into these ideas in person, there are two upcoming launch events happening in Melbourne and Sydney. All the details can be found here: https://christopherwatkin.com/two-upcoming-book-launch-events/
Is the “state of nature” just a relic of early modern philosophy, or is it a warning about our future?
