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 historyandpolicy@london.ac.uk.
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.
Germany 1945-1949: a case study in post-conflict reconstruction
After making his famous speech to troops on Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945, Field-Marshall Montgomery directed Britain's 'benevolent occupation' of Germany. Chris Knowles, of the Institute of Contemporary British History at King's College London, examines the record of Montgomery and his successors in the British Zone, 1945-49, and considers the lessons for Britain in Afghanistan and Iraq today.
Read MoreHealth reforms, opinion polls and surveys: myths and realities
Attitudes to NHS reform today are shaped by a largely imagined past of poor healthcare prior to the NHS, according to Dr Nick Hayes in a new H&P policy paper. An Ipsos Mori poll in conjunction with King's College London confirmed Dr Hayes' research – finding a fear of reform, particularly the involvement of private providers in the NHS.
Read MoreThe break-up of Czechoslovakia and Scottish independence
As the White Paper Scotland's Future is published, Dr Kieran Williams, of Drake University, examines Czechoslovakia's 'Velvet Divorce' of 1992 to reflect on the major issues for Scottish independence today. He argues that dissolving a federation (to create the Czech and Slovak republics) is very different from removing one part of an ongoing union – Scotland gaining independence from the UK.
Read MoreWhy have no bankers gone to jail?
Dr James Taylor argues that political will, not tougher legislation, is needed to restore trust in the City and the state. Effective legislation already exists – dating from the nineteenth century and strengthened since 1900, contrary to popular perceptions of the Victorian era's uncontrolled capitalism. The Victorians took transgression seriously – with important economic and social effects, which today's policy makers should be aware of.
Read MoreSurveillance, privacy and history
With the new Penny Post and Telegraph technology, the nineteenth century experienced a transformation in mass communications – and invented a problem that the early twenty-first century is struggling to resolve, as highlighted by the Edward Snowden revelations, according to Professor David Vincent, of the Open University.
Read MoreAddressing food poverty in Ireland: historical perspectives
Debates about nutritional health in nineteenth and early twentieth century Ireland, a period of severe economic decline and poverty, offers food for thought for today's policy makers, argues Dr Ian Miller, of the University of Ulster.
Read MoreGovernments 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.
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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.
