Most British prime ministers would probably have made the same decision as Tony Blair and followed George W. Bush into war in Iraq in 2003, says the FT's chief foreign affairs commentator. 

Power corrupts – and even those who start out with good intentions can be affected. The freedom of information campaigner tells us about books to help us remember this, from Orwell to a memoir of apartheid

Modern society depends on trust more than we realise, and the basis for that trust is security. The trick, says the security guru, is preserving the forces that allow us to trust one another, while also knowing who not to trust

From the Hearsts to the Murdochs, powerful families have often controlled the newspapers we read. The author, and Kennedy family member, tells us why they do it and where it leads

Women’s historical role in politics wasn’t always as limited as we might assume. The historian tells us about powerful women in British history and how they were constrained or conspired against

The Harvard academic talks about changing power in the 21st century – and how whose story wins matters as much as whose army wins