Catch up with old news from the Department. For the most current news, visit our main news page.
News from 2022
Assistant Professor in Modern European History position open
The Internsational History Department is seeking to make an appointment for an Assistant Professor. The role holder will be expected to offer new courses at undergraduate and Masters level in Modern European History, c. 1900-1939, as well as contributing to existing courses. See the full job description and consider joining our vibrant Department.
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Security and vulnerability of NATO's Northern flank
Prof Kristina Spohr spoke alongside leading experts at Cam Geopolitics' panel on #Security and vulnerability of #NATO's Northern flank.
Watch the recording now on .
Cundill History Prize award ceremony
Prof Vladslav Zubok will be in Montreal, Canada on 1st December as one of the three e, along with Ada Ferrer and Tiya Miles. The prize is awarded annually to the book that embodies historical scholarship, originality, literary quality and broad appeal.
Professor Kristina Spohr appeared on BBC Radio 4
She contributed to an episode of Archive On Four on BBC Radio 4. Where Professor David Reynolds reflected on what Franklin D Roosevelt meant by the Four Freedoms and how far the USA has lived up to his ideals.
Dr. Po has released his second book in Chinese
. “Turning the tide” was a common goal of a sizeable number of Chinese intellectuals and Western advisors in the hope of strengthening the country. But these historical actors Dr. Po argues, were also conditioned by a series of structural and external problems.
Professor Baer appeared on The Forum
Professor Baer discussed the life and times of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman on , BBC World Service on 20 October 2022
Dr. Po speaking at event in SOAS
Dr. Po will be giving a talk entitled "" at the SOAS History Research Seminar this Wednesday (Oct 26) from 5 to 6.30pm. The seminar will take place in person in room BG01 (ground floor of the Brunei Gallery Building) and online.
Professor Zubok's book wins the Reginald Zelnik Book Prize in History
We are proud to announce that Professor Vladislav Zubok's book, Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union, has won the .
Professor Ludlow's latest contribution to the International History blog
In it, he parallels the by Kwasi Kwarteng, with its extensive tax cuts and its focus on boosting investment and growth with Anthony Barber’s ill-fated ‘dash for growth’ budget in 1972.
New research article from Professor Best
Professor Best has written an that assesses the degree to which the British public’s exposure to the treasures of Chinese civilization influenced its attitude towards the political rivalry developing in East Asia.
Professor Zubok's book shortlisted for the Cundill History Prize
We are excited to announce that Professor Zubok's book, 'Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union', has been shortlisted for the .
Dr. Po awarded a research grant
Dr. Po has been awarded a research grant offered by the . The fellowship will sponsor his travel and accommodation costs for his one-month visit at the University of Hong Kong next year.
International History at the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Teaching Awards
Congratulations are in order for some of our amazing ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ International History teachers! Dr Tanya Harmer was highly commended for innovative teaching in the , while Dr Katherine Arnold won the alongside highly commended Dr Rowena Abdul Razak and Dr George Giannakopoulos. Thank you to the students who took the time to nominate the teachers that made a difference to your experience.
Professor Kristina Spohr in the Financial Times
Professor Kristina Spohr was featured in a recent interview with the ! She discusses how Putin's invasion of Ukraine backfired, strengthening NATO and the EU, and what Ukraine means for institutional order.
2022 Wolfson History Prize
Congratulations to Professor Marc David Baer! His recent book '' (Basic Books) was shortlisted for the 2022 Wolfson History Prize.
ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ International History is 5th in the World!
Wow! We are very proud to announce that ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ International History tied for 5th in the world, and ranked 3rd in the UK, in this year's 2022 QS World University Rankings!
Thank you to all our staff, students, alumni and wider ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ community who've made it possible!
Latest Research from Emeritus Professor Janet Hartley
In a in the Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Emeritus Professor Janet Hartley the discusses ways in which Britain and Russia approached controlling and caring for veterans, and the extent to which they were successful. This comparison illustrates the different constraints under which both countries operated and how both Britain and Russia also regarded former soldiers as a useful resource for the maintenance of law and order.
Dr Paul Stock on Spatial Agency
What does space do? Can we speak of space as having agency? Dr Paul Stock's new in Historical Reflections/Réflexions Historiques uses insights from material culture studies and actor-network theory to discuss ways of re-framing agency as an assemblage of human and non-human affect.
Co-Authored Article and Special Issue in Diplomacy and Statecraft
Alongside Richard Aldous, Professor Nigel Ashton has co-edited a special issue in the journal Diplomacy and Statecraft, including the of the same name. They explore David Reynolds’s concept of ‘competitive cooperation’, advanced in his book The Creation of the Anglo-American Alliance: A Study in Competitive Cooperation, 1937–1941, which has been highly influential in the historiography of contemporary international history.
New Article in Diplomacy and Statecraft by Professor Kristina Spohr
In '', Professor Kristina Spohr explores the competitive co-operation within the Boris Yeltsin-Bill Clinton-Helmut Kohl triangle. This article depicts the push-and-pull factors within and between East and West, and especially inside the Alliance, as these three leaders set out to secure a post-Wall Europe together that was far more complex and multi-layered than hitherto appreciated.
Article in the International History Review by PhD Candidate Grant Golub
Don't miss a newly published, open access by PhD Candidate Grant Golub in the "International History Review". In it, he argues that traditional accounts of the Allied grand strategic debates during World War II stress the divergence between the American and British approaches to waging war against the Axis, yet these studies have relatively marginalized others who played crucial roles in shaping these debates.
Dr Dina Gusejnova wins a CIVICA EU grant
Congratulations to Dr Dina Gusejnova, who was awarded a CIVICA EU grant. The project aims to investigate how scholars who have been forced into exile by authoritarian regimes within/outside Europe are currently being integrated in the EU. It will be co-lead with (CEU) and (SNSPA).
New Book Released by Professor Nigel Ashton
We're pleased to announce the release of '' on 3 March 2022! Professor Nigel Ashton explores the reasons why British leaders have been unable to resist returning to the mire of the Middle East, while highlighting the misconceptions about the region that have helped shape their interventions, and the legacy of history that has fuelled their pride and arrogance.
Russian Invasion of Ukraine is Putin's War to Change Europe's Order
In the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ British Politics and Policy Blog, Professor Kristina Spohr argues that Russia’s war against Ukraine is not only a challenge to Europe’s territorial borders. It is a war that challenges the character and rules that have governed the international system since 1945. .
Professor Kristina Spohr on the Russo-Western 'Battle of the Narratives'
In her contribution to the German platform DEKODER, Professor Spohr offers an evaluation of the Russo-Western 'Battle of the Narratives' over NATO enlargement and European security. She shows how Putin - as he seeks to remake the European post-Wall order - has come to instrumentalise the 'myth of betrayal' and 'broken promises', most recently in the ongoing Ukraine crisis. Crucially, as she explains, there is no historical evidence to support Putin’s narrative of Western treason.
Professor Vladislav Zubok on Ukraine Crisis
As Western leaders warn of an imminent invasion, our own Professor Vladislav Zubok explains the history behind the crisis which has seen the build up of 130,000 Russian troops on Ukraine's borders. .
Professor Kristina Spohr on the Ukraine-Russia crisis
In her most recent op-ed in the Spanish daily El Pais, she writes on the crisis over Ukraine and Russian pressure to extract Western security guarantees in order to undo the post-Wall European security system. Professor Spohr also reveals how Putin's obsession with tales of Russian victimisation and Western betrayal are based on false narratives and has much to do with his own impotence to counter the appeal of the European social model. Read more in "" (in Spanish).
New book on the British newspaper coverage of Africa during decolonisation
Warm congratulations to PhD alumna and Guest Teacher Dr Rosalind Coffey who has just released her first book, The British Press, Public Opinion and the End of Empire in Africa: The 'Wind of Change', 1957-60. The book, based on her PhD research supervised by Dr Joanna Lewis, explores some of the cultural and political implications of British newspaper coverage of decolonisation in Africa. .
Professor Baer on Sultanic Saviours
Don't miss part 2 of the Ottoman History Podcast interview with Professor Marc David Baer out now. In this episode, which covers his book , he explains how the history of Ottoman Jews became part and parcel of a narrative that contrasted the Ottoman Empire's beneficence and tolerance with the anti-Semitism of other European societies. Yet, the image of "Sultanic Saviors" became entangled with the denial not only of anti-Semitism in Turkey but also of violence against Christians in the late Ottoman Empire and the Armenian Genocide.
Book discussion
Professor Marc David Baer presented his latest book, , in conversation with other scholars online for the Ottoman & Turkish Studies Association on 26 January. and .
New article by PhD student Charlotte Eaton
Charlotte has published her first article on "Colombian Foreign Policy and the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939". The paper explores the statecraft of the two Liberal administrations of the late 1930s to show how they pursued different policies towards the Spanish conflict, revealing, in turn, the internal dynamics of the two administrations and how they conceived of Colombia's position on the world stage.
Book prize for Sultanic Saviors and Tolerant Turks
Professor Marc David Baer has been named winner of the 2021 Dr Sona Aronian Book Prize for Excellence in Armenian Studies, annually awarded by the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), for his book, (2020, Indiana University Press).
Iris Forrester Prize and the Medlicott Prize winners
The 2020/21 Iris Forrester Prize and the Medlicott Prize winners have been announced. The Iris Forrester Prize rewards student excellence in the Department’s 12-month MSc programmes. The winners are Oliver Moffat, Megan Hollis and Phillip Holt (MSc in History of International Relations); Abigail Perelman, Alexander Thomson and Harrison Jacobs (MSc in Empires, Colonialism and Globalisation); Tim Rossow and Luke Anselmi (MSc Theory and History of International Relations); and Benjamin Morris and Conor Hodges (MSc International and Asian History).The Medlicott Prize is awarded for the highest dissertation mark in the Department’s MSc programmes. The 2020/21 winners are Thomas Browne and Cameron Bell.
Dr Cant on the New Books Network podcast
Dr Anna Cant was interviewed for the New Books Network podcast about her new book (University of Texas Press, 2021). The book is a fresh perspective on the way the Peruvian government's major 1969 agrarian reform transformed the social, cultural, and political landscape of the country.
New article by PhD student Fionntán O’Hara
In “” (The Latin Americanist, 65:4), Fionntán focuses on how Salvadoran and Nicaraguan refugees in Honduras during the 1980s were viewed within the United States. The article also highlights the exploitative nature of the Reagan administration's interest in refugees in contrast to that of other actors.