Political History

Global Britain: continuity or delusion?

In this post, Ben Wynne historicises the term ‘Global Britain’ in the 20th century. He argues that there is nothing new about the sentiment behind this phrase and suggests it should not be dismissed as a recent invention of Brexit supporters.

Britain’s decision to leave the European Union is often put down to a desire to regain something of its […]

July 21st, 2021|Featured|2 Comments|

Review Essay | The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism by Thomas Frank

Given the alarming recent support for reactionary Right-wing populist politicians around the world, discussions of populism as a cultural-political phenomenon have become increasingly important. In this detailed review, Andrew Urie reviews Thomas Frank’s book The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism (2020), which provides an engaging history of American populism and its Left-wing potential.

Thomas Frank has long been one […]

March 10th, 2021|Uncategorized|1 Comment|

“Ulster Will Fight and Ulster Will be Right”: The DUP and the Zero-Sum Game of Constitutional Politics

Tárlach Russell examines the various ways in which Northern Irish Unionists have navigated constitutional changes and argues that Brexit has become the latest battleground in a zero-sum game paradigm by the DUP where any concessions to greater secure the institutions of Northern Ireland are perceived as attempts to undermine the Union.

In 1921, Edward Carson warned his successor as the leader […]

February 1st, 2021|Uncategorized|0 Comments|
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    The Disuniting Kingdom? Looking at the Meaning of the Nation in a Climactic Year

The Disuniting Kingdom? Looking at the Meaning of the Nation in a Climactic Year

In this post, Dan Taylor explores the historical trajectory of the concept of a British ‘nation’. He argues that, amidst resurgent nationalisms within the United Kingdom, we must stop ignoring the topic and work collectively to establish a collective identity fit for the British Islands in the 21st century.

 

We are witnessing the ‘slow death of Britain’, warns former […]

January 25th, 2021|Uncategorized|0 Comments|

The Strategic Failure of the CCP’s Hong Kong Policy

The protests in Hong Kong pit the forces of Xi Jinping’s China against Hong Kong’s implacable public opinion in favor of democracy and the rule of law. The tension between them has the world on a knife’s edge. Hong Kong is a major financial and media capital. Its movement symbolises resistance to advancing authoritarianism around the world. Whatever the […]

September 16th, 2019|Uncategorized|0 Comments|

Egyptian Leadership in Historical Perspective: Abdel Fattah El-Sisi & Gamal Abdel Nasser

The events of the 25 January 2011 revolution in Tahrir Square, and the consequent 2013 military overthrow of Egypt’s first democratically-elected president Mohammed Morsi, capture the sentiment of King Farouk’s last words to those who overthrew him in 1952: ‘It isn’t easy, you know, to govern Egypt.’[1]

The current President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, widely considered to be a man of […]

LSE Library Archives and the Russian Revolution

This November (October in the Julian calendar) marks the centenary of the second of the 1917 Russian Revolutions, when the Bolsheviks overthrew the Provisional Government, and established a federal government and the world’s first socialist republic. This was the result of several months of power struggles, after the sudden collapse of the Tsarist autocracy and the abdication of Nicholas […]

November 2nd, 2017|Uncategorized|0 Comments|

The Catalan Crisis: Free Choice?

Many are asking whether the Catalan people have a choice – a right to self-determination. The more pertinent question, however, relates to Spain’s options. While negotiation is clearly one, Madrid would appear to assume that it has another: flat denial of Catalonian claims.

Historically, denial has been a standard approach adopted by central governments faced with dissatisfied regions. Serbia was […]

October 20th, 2017|Uncategorized|0 Comments|

We’re All in “It” Together: Without Votes at Work, People’s Wages Are Pressed to the Minimum Wall

In this timely piece, Dr Ewan McGaughey writes about the Conservative Party’s most recent labour policies. Seen historically, he argues that there is little new about these policies. History shows when more people are earning middle incomes, when most people are not pressed toward the minimum, and when the top-earners are not taking ‘other people’s money’ there is greater […]

September 15th, 2015|Uncategorized|0 Comments|

Crisis in Greece: Will History Repeat Itself?

Against the backdrop of political and economic crisis in Greece, Savas Manoussakis writes a timely piece on whether Greece’s recent history will repeat itself. Mr Manoussakis argues that Syriza may be able to correct, and prevent a repeat of, the disastrous failures of its predecessors but provided it takes ownership of some of the measures imposed by the Troika […]