Nicholas Woode-Smith, Author at The Hayek Council

10Apr 2026 by Nicholas Woode-Smith

Frontlines for Freedom: Resisting the New Axis

Opinion

Excerpt The frontline states share a single, brutal truth. Freedom is not defended by speeches, summits, or symbolic condemnations. It is defended by people and countries willing to absorb the first hit, the first missile volley, the first wave of terrorists, the first cyberattack, the first blockade. Ukraine bleeds so Europe does not. Taiwan holds the technological high ground, so the world does not wake up under a Chinese chip monopoly. The comfortable capitals of the West like to pretend that history has ended, that trade can tame tyrants, and that “stability” is achieved by bargaining with the very forces that destroy it. That illusion is finished. The New Axis is not a misunderstanding - it is a project. It aims to rewrite borders by force, weaponise supply chains, export…

10Apr 2026 by Nicholas Woode-Smith

The New Axis: South Africa?

Opinion

Excerpt For the ANC the Cold War never really ended. And while it maintains an air of respectability when begging for Western investment and foreign aid, in truth it sides with rogue states, dictators and war criminals to not just push an anti-Western agenda, but also to receive bribes. The ANC has ensured that South Africa’s foreign policy is not just irrationally in favour of the New Axis but also uses it as a fundraising tool. Since 1994, the ANC has effectively leased its foreign policy to the highest bidder. These bribes have been used to fill ANC party and official’s coffers, while providing diplomatic cover and legitimacy to dictators like Libya’s Gaddafi, Nigeria’s Abacha and Indonesia’s Suharto, all of which were engaging in brutal violence against civilians. The ANC…

10Apr 2026 by Nicholas Woode-Smith

The New Axis: China

Opinion

Excerpt China uses access to its market and its control over manufacturing to punish countries and force itself into positions where it can dictate the policies of other nations. Australia’s wine industry was decimated after its government called for investigations into the source of COVID-19, and Beijing retaliated effectively with sanctions on Australian wine. The list goes on and on and is almost impossible to exhaust. Couple these actions with the fact that China is the fastest growing nuclear power, and its never-ending imperial ambitions. China has also proven far more adept than even Russia at information warfare – utilising its control over TikTok to control algorithms and push users into believing pro-Beijing narratives, while censoring or quashing the reach of anything critical of China. China has never given up…

10Apr 2026 by Nicholas Woode-Smith

The New Axis: Iran

Opinion

Excerpt Iran is not merely an authoritarian state with internal abuses. It is a revolutionary regime whose survival depends on repression at home and chaos abroad. Violence is not a failure of the system. It is the system. The same institutions that shoot protesters in Tehran and Mashhad direct terrorist proxies across the Middle East, exporting instability as a matter of doctrine. It is therefore essential to separate the Iranian regime from the Iranian people. The millions who have repeatedly taken to the streets at enormous personal risk are not enemies of the free world. They are among its most courageous defenders. Women tearing off their veils, students defying clerics, and workers striking in the face of bullets represent a moral struggle that aligns naturally with liberal democratic values, not…

10Apr 2026 by Nicholas Woode-Smith

The New Axis: Russia

Opinion

Excerpt Russia is a paper tiger. The war in Ukraine proves it. A two week “special operation” has lasted longer than the Soviet Union’s involvement in the Second World War. Millions of young men have been thrown into a meat grinder to satisfy Vladimir Putin’s imperial ambition. Russia cannot win a traditional war against the West. Only its nuclear arsenal, and the threat of mutually assured destruction, allow it to misbehave with relative impunity. Unable to achieve decisive victories, it has instead become a master of information warfare. Russian information warfare does not aim to convince Western publics that Moscow is virtuous. It succeeds when citizens conclude that truth is unknowable, institutions are corrupt, and political participation is futile. Read in the Rational Standard

21Sep 2022 by Martin van Staden

To Tyrants the Answer is “No”: Conceptualizing a Confident, Muscular, and Cosmopolitan Libertarianism

Comos + Taxis, Paper

Abstract This paper critiques the growing tendency among some libertarians, particularly those influenced by national-conservatism, to treat individual liberty and property rights as culturally contingent "Western" values unsuitable for export beyond the West. The authors argue that libertarianism is inherently cosmopolitan: it posits universal, inalienable rights of self-ownership and property that apply to all individuals regardless of nationality, culture, or tradition. Drawing on FA Hayek, the paper rejects the nation-state's claim to collective "self-determination" through majoritarian legislation, favouring instead universal rules of just conduct (cosmos) over particularistic commands (taxis). National-conservative critiques - that libertarianism undermines tradition, community, and non-Western values - are countered by showing that libertarian principles accommodate voluntary associations, intermediary institutions, and cultural diversity, while requiring only that no group impose its vision on others. The authors advocate…

Author: Nicholas Woode-Smith