Policy Papers
History & Policy papers are written by expert historians, based on peer-reviewed research. They offer historical insights into current policy issues ranging from Afghanistan and Iraq, climate change and internet surveillance to family dynamics, alcohol consumption and health reforms. For historians interested in submitting a paper, please see the editorial guidelines.
Currently, 252 papers are freely searchable by theme, author or keyword, with new papers published regularly. Where possible, we publish papers to coincide with relevant policy developments. If you are a policy maker, civil society practitioner or journalist and would like to contact one of our historians, please contact [email protected].
You can download H&P policy papers directly from the Apple iBooks store to your iPhone, iPad or Mac. We also have an Amazon Kindle version to download to your PC for transfer to your Kindle via USB cable. Please consult your Kindle manual for further details.
Governments and ‘soft power’ in international affairs: Britain and the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Ol
In 1980 an Olympic boycott offered a viable means of 'fighting' the Cold War but as Dr Paul Corthorn, of Queen's University Belfast, explains, this attempt at using 'soft power' failed because of mishandling by the Thatcher Government.
Read MoreCurbing Labour’s totalitarian temptation: European human rights Law as a Conservative political proj
Introduction Why does European human rights law privilege the protection of civil and political rights over the protection of social rights? Many historians have described the years immediately following the Second World War as an era of consensus in Western Europe around a welfarist conception of the state. Yet, when the member states of the […]
Read MoreExit strategies in counter-insurgency: Britain in Aden and the lessons for Afghanistan
British forces' hurried and humiliating exit from Aden in 1967 shows the dangers of a highly politicised and hasty withdrawal from a complex counter-insurgency campaign, according to a new policy paper by Andrew Mumford, of Nottingham University. His analysis of British military operations in Aden during the 1962-67 civil war in South Arabia (modern-day Yemen) offers vital lessons for military and political leaders planning British forces' departure from Afghanistan.
Read MoreDevelopment policy and history: lessons from the Green Revolution
International donor agencies and governments have turned a blind eye to evidence of successful state-funded assistance for peasant farmers – for example in Japan and Central Europe around 1900 – which could provide models for boosting smallholder agriculture in the global South today, according to Jonathan Harwood, of Manchester University, in a new History & Policy paper.
Read MoreChoice, policy and practice in maternity care since 1948
Introduction The question of how best to meet mothers' needs in their maternity care remains of utmost importance in today's climate of health service reorganisation and pressure on resources. How can women's expectations be satisfied at a time of increased demand and declining resources? Commenting on the 2012/13 Choice Framework, published by the Department of […]
Read MoreLiberal-Conservative Coalitions – ‘a farce and a fraud’?
In 1886 Liberal Unionist Lord Derby said coalition governments 'were always unpopular and seldom lasted long.' On the eve of the third anniversary of the current Coalition Government, Ian Cawood, of Newman University, assesses the performance, politics and popularity of the six previous coalition governments in the last 120 years – and the implications for relations between the parties in coalition today.
Read MoreSeventy years and counting: the unsolved problem of press regulation
The Leveson Inquiry was the seventh government-commissioned inquiry into press regulation in the last seventy years. In a new policy paper, Tom O'Malley, Professor of Media at Aberystwyth University, predicts an eighth. He explores the long history of policy failure in this area, and critiques the polarised debate over 'State censorship versus free speech'.
Read MoreBritain’s ‘9/11 Wars’ in historical perspective: why change and continuity matter
Britain's involvement in the '9/11 Wars' has transformed the security landscape but history shows that 'new' adversaries are not that novel and share similarities with more familiar terrorist threats. Dr Aaron Edwards, of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, argues that a strategic analysis of the history of Irish republican terrorism, Al Qaeda affiliates and Britain's response to such adversaries, offers important insights for decision makers today.
Read MoreWhere are all the women in politics?
Women were active voters 75 years before they received the parliamentary franchise in 1918, Sarah Richardson of Warwick University reveals. Previously unseen evidence shows that women voted in parish elections, proof, Prof. Richardson argues, that their political activity was not confined to 'soft politics' as traditionally thought. Prof. Richardson will present BBC Radio 4's Document at 8.00pm tonight to discuss Votes for Victorian Women.
Read MoreThe trouble with deposit insurance
Introduction Banks sometimes fail, a fact brought home dramatically during the latest financial crisis. In 2008 and 2009, some 308 US banks failed. Between them they held deposits equal to seventeen percent of US GDP, and included five of the fourteen largest US deposit-holders. Happily the individuals who had entrusted their cash to these banks […]
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About Us
H&P is based at the Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, University of London.
We are the only project in the UK providing access to an international network of more than 500 historians with a broad range of expertise. H&P offers a range of resources for historians, policy makers and journalists.
