2015 News

Professor Prazmowska Awarded Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship

Professor Anita Prazmowska was awarded a two-year Major Research Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust, 2016-18. The topic of her research will be ‘The Cold War Jigsaw: Poland's role in the Angolan Civil War, 1976-1986’.

Dr Kristina Spohr on Helmut Schmidt's Death in the Guardian and in the German and Finnish Press

Dr Kristina Spohr, our expert in International History of Germany since 1945, marked the death of Chancellor Schmidt on 10 November 2015 with an opinion article in the Guardian. In her article, entitled "Helmut Schmidt – a German leader with a global vision", Dr Spohr claimed "his reputation is understated at home, but the West German chancellor’s brilliance on the world stage made him one of Europe’s greatest leaders”. "As a historian I would argue that Schmidt, who was chancellor from 1974 to 1982, ranks alongside the best global leaders. Schmidt’s achievements were not so much in the national arena but as what I have called a “global chancellor”. "Helmut Schmidt deserves to be remembered as West Germany’s “global chancellor”. Dr Spohr, who was with Helmut Schmidt in October 2015, explains the concept of Helmut Schmidt as a "Global Chancellor" in her upcoming book published by Oxford University Press, called The Global Chancellor: Helmut Schmidt and the Reshaping of the International Order. Her book will come out in March 2016 and can be pre-ordered at Amazon. Dr Spohr's reference to Helmut Schmidt as "the global chancellor" has been referenced extensively in the German media. Namely in the Der Spiegel, Zeit, Express, Focus Magazine (online video), web.de, Deutschlandfunk, Hamburger Abendblatt and in the Westdeutsche Zeitung. She also wrote a commentary for the Finnish newspaper, Iltalehti.

Dr Kristina Spohr Interviewed by L.I.S.A.

Dr Kristina Spohr was interviewed about the late former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt for L.I.S.A, the Science Portal of the Gerda Henkel Foundation, on 24 November 2015. The interview, which can be read here, is in German and is entitled: "Helmut Schmidt hat Weltpolitik betrieben”. The Department of International History and and the Gerda Henkel Foundation co-operate to host the yearly Gerda Henkel Visiting Professorship which aims to promote awareness in Britain of German research on the history of the German Federal Republic and the German Democratic Republic, and to stimulate comparative work on German history in a European context.

Professor Anita Prazmowska Donates Rare Collection of Postcards

Professor Anita Prazmowska was in Warsaw on 3 November 2015 to donate rare postcards written between a Jewish friend, Tamara Frymer, based in London, and the latter's family, trapped in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Second World War. "Professor Prazmowska only found out about the postcards after her friend's death, when her son, Martin, showed them to her. After his death in March this year, Prazmowska, fearing these historical artifacts might be lost, asked the executor of Martin's will to let her take them to Poland. The postcards will now go on display at the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw and be included in the Central Jewish Library, an online collection of digitized Jewish documents from the Institute's archives". Read more about this incredible donation which tells a deep emotional story of a Jewish family's struggle for survival as reported by the Haaretz Newspaper. Watch Professor Prazmowska on Polish-speaking TVN Warszawa talking about her donation.

Dr Kristina Spohr at the Churchill College's Political Leadership Symposium

Dr Kristina Spohr, our specialist in the International History of Germany since 1945, participated in the The Challenge of Political Leadership Symposium on Friday, 13 November 2015, at Churchill College, University of Cambridge. This one day symposium sought to look at the challenge of understanding, assessing and improving political leadership. It sought to bring together historians and political scientists with politicians and practitioners in a multidisciplinary and cross party approach. British Labour politician, Lord Peter Mandelson, and former Secretary of State for Education and Home Secretary, The Right Honourable Charles Clarke, were the keynote speakers. The event was a collaboration between the Churchill Archives Centre, The Møller Centre, Cambridge University Department of Politics and International Studies and the Faculty of History.

Watch Dr Spohr's participation at the Symposium. Watch Dr Spohr give an interview to Cambridge TV about the Challenge of Political Leadership.

New Publication by Professor Steven Casey

Professor Steven Casey’s new book, Mental Maps in the Era of Détente and the End of the Cold War, was published in October. The book, edited jointly with Professor Jonathan Wright, is the final volume of a trilogy that explores the ‘mental maps’ of key leaders during the twentieth century. It features thirteen studies, including chapters on Nixon and Kissinger, Brezhnev and Gorbachev, Allende and Deng, Nyerere and Mandela. Read more about the book from the publisher, Palgrave-Macmillan.

Another Honorary Doctorate for Professor Paul Preston

On 26 October 2015, the Universitat de Valencia awarded Professor Paul Preston his fourth Honorary Doctorate. This honour was preceded by three other Honorary Doctorates awarded by British and Spanish Universities this year alone in recognition of his outstanding academic achievements. On 15 May, Professor Preston was made Doctor Honoris Causa in the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Tarragona). Another Honorary Doctorate followed on 21 July, awarded by the University of Liverpool, the city of his birth, where other doctorands included the Archbishop of Canterbury and the President of Ireland. A third Honorary Doctorate was awarded on 28 September at the Universidad de Extremadura in Cáceres. The latest Honorary Doctorate by the Universitat de Valencia has been widely reported in the Spanish press, including in the newspapers, El Pais, El Mundo and Vanguardia. Professor Paul Preston is due to receive a fifth Honorary Doctorate in the coming months from the Universitat de Barcelona.

Professor Prazmowska on BBC World Service

On 26 October 2015, Professor Anita Prazmowska was on BBC World Service, Newshour. She commented on the recent Polish elections, saying that "this was an election where people voted for emotions rather than policies". Listen to her analysis here.

Konrad Adenauer Foundation and LSE Agree on Fellowship in 20th Century European History

The Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Berlin, and the LSE concluded an agreement to establish a post-doctoral "KAS–LSE Fellowship in Twentieth-Century European History". Applications can be made at the beginning of 2016. The fellowships will give post-doctoral fellows access to higher education and enable research and teaching at the prestigious LSE for twelve months. Both institutions are committed to European and international cooperation. The aim is to open opportunities in higher education and to forge the institutional and academic relationships to enable post-doctoral students to undertake innovative research. The Konrad Adenauer Foundation promotes excellence in modern history, contemporary history and political science through its post-docoral fellowships which support the values of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation; the fellows will go on to prestigious posts in universities or in the non-university sector. Contact for application, Dr Susanna Schmidt, Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

Professor Paul Preston Receives his Third Honorary Doctorate

On 28 September 2015, Professor Paul Preston received his third honorary doctorate from the University of Extremadura, Spain. Enrique Moradiellos, the doctor’s sponsor and a professor at the University of Extremadura, described Professor Preston as “the finest British Hispanist around today”. The ceremony was presided over by the Rector of the University of Extremadura, Segundo Píriz Durán, and by the President of the Government of Extremadura, Guillermo Fernández Vara. This year alone, Professor Paul Preston has received two other honorary doctorates. One from the University of Rovira i Virgili of Tarragona (15 May 2015) and another from the University of Liverpool (21 July 2015), where other doctorands included the Archbishop of Canterbury and the President of Ireland. Professor Paul Preston's third honorary doctorate was widely reported in the Spanish press, including in the Canal Extremadura TV (video), El Diario.es, EFE , Europa Press, Público.es, La República, La Vanguardia, W Radio.

New Publication by Dr Antony Best

Dr Antony Best's new co-edited volume, Japan and the Great War, came out in October. The book, edited jointly with Dr Oliviero Frattolillo, gives emphasis to the "many ways in which the conflict shaped Japan both at the time and in its aftermath". The study features seven internationally renowned experts on Japanese and Asian history. Read more about the book from the publisher, Palgrave-Macmillan.

Professor Steven Casey Wins the 2015 Richard E. Neustadt Prize

Professor Steven Casey has won the 2015 Richard E. Neustadt Prize for his book, When Soldiers Fall: How Americans have Confronted Combat Casualties, from World War I to Afghanistan (Oxford University Press). This is the second time he has won the prize, which is awarded annually by the American Politics Group of the Political Studies Association for the best book in American Politics. In 2009, Professor Casey's book, Selling the Korean War: Propaganda, Politics, and Public Opinion, 1950-1953 (Oxford University Press, 2008; paperback 2010), also won the Neustadt Prize.

Dr Roham Alvandi's Book Event at the Nixon Presidential Library

Dr Roham Alvandi was at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library on 17 September, talking about his book, Nixon, Kissinger, and the Shah. His book was selected by the Financial Times as one of the best history books of 2014. It offers a new account of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi's relationship with the United States by examining the partnership he forged with President Nixon and Henry Kissinger in the 1970s. Watch the event here.

New Book by Dr Antony Best

Dr Antony Best has published a book in Japanase called Daiei Teikoku no Shin-Nichi Ha: Kaisen ha Naze Sakerare Nakattaka [British Japanophiles: Why Could Britain and Japan Not Avoid War?] (Chuo Koron Shuppansha, Tokyo, 2015). The book is translated from the original English-language essays by Dr Tomoki Takeda. Dr Best is the department's expert on Anglo-Japanese relations and the history of modern Japan.

New Publications by our Faculty

Professor Janet Hartley, Dr Paul Keenan and Emeritus Professor Dominic Lieven edited a volume called, Russia and the Napoleonic Wars (Palgrave 2015) which came out on 15 September. As the publisher tells us, "this volume brings together the most important and new research on Russia and the Napoleonic period by Russian and non-Russian historians. Their work demonstrates why this period is so significant both for internal Russian developments and for an understanding of Russia's relationship with Europe."

New publication by Dr Heather Jones

Dr Heather Jones has a new co-edited book coming out on 14 September. The book, published in French with Nicolas Beaupré and Anne Rasmussenis, focus on the First World War, her area of expertise, and it's called Dans la guerre 1914-1918. Accepter, Endurer, Refuser. Read more about it here (in french).

New publication by Professor Nigel J. Ashton

Professor Nigel J. Ashton has published a new article in The International History Review (2015), called "Searching for a Just and Lasting Peace? Anglo-American Relations and the Road to United Nations Security Council Resolution 242". His article analyses the Anglo-American diplomacy at the United Nations which led to the passing of the Security Council Resolution 242. It argues that the policy-making of the Johnson administration was rendered incoherent by internal rivalries and disorganisation. US Ambassador to the UN, Arthur Goldberg, was perceived as excessively sympathetic to Israel by the Arab delegations. The British approach, by contrast, was perceived by all parties as more even-handed. The clear position adopted by Foreign Secretary George Brown on Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories, together with the skilful diplomacy of the Ambassador to the UN, Lord Caradon, explains the British success in sponsoring Resolution 242. The episode holds broader lessons for the conduct of Anglo-American relations showing that Britain was better placed to achieve diplomatic success when it retained its freedom of manoeuvre in relations with the United States. If you have an LSE account, you can read the article for free here.

New book by Dr Taylor C. Sherman

Dr Taylor C. Sherman has a new book coming out in September, called Muslim Belonging in Secular India: Negotiating Citizenship in Postcolonial Hyderabad (Cambridge University Press). Dr Sherman's book surveys the experience of some of India's most prominent Muslim communities in the early postcolonial period. Muslims who remained in India after the Partition of 1947 faced distrust and discrimination, and were consequently compelled to seek new ways of defining their relationship with fellow citizens of India and its governments. Using the forcible integration of the princely state of Hyderabad in 1948 as a case study, Taylor C. Sherman reveals the fragile and contested nature of Muslim belonging in the decade that followed independence. In this context, she demonstrates how Muslim claims to citizenship in Hyderabad contributed to intense debates over the nature of democracy and secularism in independent India. Drawing on detailed new archival research, Dr Sherman provides a thorough and compelling examination of the early governmental policies and popular strategies that have helped to shape the history of Muslims in India since 1947. Read more about it here.

Dr Scanlan on Share Radio

Dr Padraic X. Scanlan appeared on 8 August 2015 as one of the guests on "The History of Booms, Busts and Bubbles," a programme hosted by the presenter Rita Lobo, on the financial news and commentary radio station Share Radio. He talked about slavery and the impact it had on the British Empire. Listen to the podcast of this very interesting broadcast here.

Dr Roham Alvandi on BBC World News

Dr Roham Alvandi, the department's expert on Iran, Modern Middle East, and the Cold War, was interviewed by BBC World News on 24 August 2015 about the opening of the British and Iranian embassies in Tehran and London. Watch the interview here.

Dr Dayna Barnes Appointed the 2015 Pinto Postdoctoral Fellow

The Department of International History and IDEAS have the pleasure to announce that Dr Dayna Barnes is the new 2015 LSE IDEAS Pinto Postdoctoral Fellow. She completed her PhD in International History at the London School of Economics, where she also received an MSc in the Theory and History of International Relations. She recently served as the 2014-2015 Kiriyama Fellow at the University of San Francisco Center for Asia Pacific Studies. Dr Barnes has also held positions at the University of Winchester, Tokyo University, and San Francisco State University. Her research interests include 20th century international history, American foreign policy, and US-Japan relations. She is currently working on a book project examining the development of American postwar planning for Japan during World War Two.

International History PhD Student wins Institute of Historical Research's Pollard Prize

Cees Heere, a PhD student at the Department supervised by Dr Antony Best, is this year’s recipient of the Institute of Historical Research’s Pollard Prize for the best paper given to one of the Institute’s research seminars by a doctoral student. As a result he will have his paper published in the IHR’s peer-reviewed journal Historical Research and be given books to the value of £200. Mr Heere’s paper, which is entitled ‘The Imperial Politics of Asian Immigration 1900-1914’, was presented to the International History seminar at the IHR in January this year. The Department wishes to congratulate this extremely pleasant and talented individual on this wonderful achievement.

Dr Kristina Spohr on The Guardian

Dr Kristina Spohr and Professor Christopher Clark wrote a comment for The Guardian, published in May 2015. The comment entitled "Moscow’s account of Nato expansion is a case of false memory syndrome" asserts that it's time for a reality check. "Russia’s grievances today rest on a narrative of past betrayals, slights and humiliations". The comment can be read here.

International History Postgraduate Student, George Arnold - MSc in Empires, Colonialism and Globalisation, Wins Bursary to Study at LSE-UCT July Summer School

In his own words:

Walking through the Saw Swee Hock Student Centre one afternoon in late February, a poster advertising the LSE-UCT July Summer School caught my eye. After some follow-up research of the course I decided to apply for the full bursary to study at the University of Cape Town at the end of June – and was exceedingly fortunate to have won. During my time at UCT I will be enrolled on the Africa and Global Transformation course which looks to understand the burgeoning relationships between Africa and other emerging powers (such as Brazil, China and India) and how these are subsequently effecting the development of the continent. I am particularly excited to investigate the angle of South Africa and her role in BRICS and how this transcends over to being a continental leader. 

After my time at UCT I will be delving into a few of the archives to pursue some primary research for my MSc dissertation. I will be looking at the role of two monuments in South Africa, the Rhodes Memorial just outside Cape Town and the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, and how they were used in public coverage to indoctrinate apartheid ideology into the English-speaking white population during the late-1950s and early-1960s. Initially being based in Cape Town, I will venture to the Rhodes Memorial itself and look at the archives of the Cape Times (as well as anything else I find at UCT). Afterwards a trip to Pretoria will allow me to visit the Voortrekker Monument and investigate the differences between the coverage of regional newspapers, such as the Pretoria News and Rand Daily Mail, with those of Cape Town’s. As a comparative study my research will look to incorporate the broad themes of memorialization as a tool of nation-state building; understanding how, and to what effect, the apartheid state was able to control news and public coverage; and finally be used as a comparative study between two distinct regions of South Africa to better understand how centralized apartheid’s ideology actually was – or whether it was regionalized and the government was pragmatic in its application. 

I am very much looking forward to my time at UCT and my subsequent dissertation research (hoping that there proves to be some primary evidence to back up my working thesis too!). There could be a lot worse places to be based than Cape Town to get to expand my knowledge on the African continent this summer, so delighted to be heading off there this Friday. Please feel free to get in touch with me at ‘w . g. arnold @ lse . ac. uk’ if you any recommendations on places to go, people to see, and experiences to try out!

Dr Tanya Harmer Wins Student-led Teaching Excellence Award for Research Support and Guidance

Dr Tanya Harmer has won the Award for Research Support and Guidance at this year’s student-led Teaching Excellence Awards. The awards are run by the Students’ Union, supported by the Teaching and Learning Centre and sponsored by the Annual Fund. This year, competition was particularly hard, as students made 1362 nominations for 555 individual members of staff. This is a terrific achievement for Dr Tanya Harmer who last year had won the Major Review Award.

Dr Heather Jones Contributes to RTÉ Documentary

Dr Heather Jones contributed to a documentary broadcast by RTÉ on Tuesday, 21 April 2015, called 'Gallipoli-Ireland's Forgotten Heroes'. In the documentary, David Davin-Power travels to Turkey to commemorate the 3,000 Irish soldiers who were killed at the Battle of Gallipoli during the First World War.

International History of Twentieth Century and Beyond, 3rd Edition

The third edition of the hugely successful International History of Twentieth Century and Beyond was out in March 2015 with new updates and additions. The volume, co-authored by our lecturers, Dr Antony Best and Dr Kirsten Schulze, and former lecturers in our department, Professor Jussi M. Hanhimäki and Professor Joseph A. Maiolo, features several updates, namely, new material on the Arab Spring, including specific focus on Libya and Syria and increased debate on the question of US decline and the rise of China. The new edition also includes a new chapter on the international history of human rights and its advocacy organisations, including NGOs, and a timeline to give increased context to those studying the topic for the first time.

Read Professor Jussi M. Hanhimäki's interview about the new edition here.

Buy the book here.

"Why My Curriculum Is Not White" by BA History Rayhan Chouglay

Rayhan Chouglay, a BA History at our department, reviews his undergraduate curriculum in "Why My Curriculum Is Not White", published in The Beaver, the LSE SU newspaper on 24 February 2015. Chouglay praises the diversity taught in our department, contrary to what the BME Network campaign, “Why is my curriculum white?”, and hopes to “show other departments and courses what they should aspire to”. Read the article here.

Dr Tanya Harmer awarded a British Academy Newton Mobility Award

Dr Tanya Harmer has been awarded a British Academy Newton Mobility Award worth £9,962 to lead a collaborative research project with Dr Alberto Martín Álvarez at the Instituto Mora in Mexico City on "Transnational and Global Histories of Latin America's Revolutionary Left." The project will centre around two international conferences in 2016 on Latin American left-wing movements' transnational and global connections during the Cold War.

Dr Heather Jones on The Return of the Brute

On 18 January 2015, Dr Heather Jones was a guest on RTE Radio 1, The History Show, discussing Liam O’Flaherty’s novel about the First World War, The Return of the Brute. Other partipants in the book club choice discussion were consultant psychiatrist, Brendan Kelly and history teacher, Noel Wade. The novel was first published in 1929. Listen to the podcast here.