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.
History and national identity: why they should remain divorced
Introduction Gordon Brown has regularly spoken about the importance of Britishness. In this the former-Chancellor and now Prime Minister has reflected a general concern of the government, which last year ordered a review on how British history could be inserted into the citizenship curriculum in schools so as to strengthen notions of national identity and […]
Read MoreFacing the challenge of climate change: energy efficiency and energy consumption
Paul Warde of the University of East Anglia says that restricting energy use is the only way to tackle climate change. In an analysis of four centuries of energy consumption, he warns that over-reliance on energy efficiency will not curb carbon emissions.
Read MoreHitting Northern Rock bottom: lessons from nineteenth-century British banking
Introduction In the summer of 2007, global investors began to have doubts about the safety of their investment in the American sub-prime mortgage market – mortgages made to people with less than good chances of paying off their loans. The world financial markets were sent into turmoil as investors became wary, and unwilling to provide […]
Read MoreTrade unions and the law – history and a way forward?
Introduction The question which Labour ministers must ponder, if they are to restore good relations with the trade unions at the same time as sidelining the continuing real influence of the 'hard left' in union councils, is whether unions are forever to be seen as bodies to be tightly controlled by government regulation. Are unions […]
Read MoreBinge drinking and moral panics: historical parallels?
A new History & Policy paper by Peter Borsay of Aberystwyth University argues that public and media concern about binge-drinking and the 'broken society' is not new and has a 250-year pedigree. In a comparison between modern-day binge-drinking and the 18th century Gin Craze, he argues binge-drinking may be a recurring moral panic that is resistant to quick-fix solutions. His paper has attracted coverage in the Observer, BBC online and the Western Mail.
Read MoreGoing to university: funding, costs, benefits
Ten years after publication of the Dearing report, Carol Dyhouse of the University of Sussex explores how higher-education funding structures have affected successive generations of students.
Read MoreHistorical myth-making in juvenile justice policy
With new rules on the physical restraint of young offenders coming into force this week, Abigail Wills of Brasenose College, Oxford, argues that the government's approach to juvenile justice is the most punitive for 150 years. In her History & Policy paper she explodes the twin myths that there was a golden age of respect and deference, and that current juvenile justice policy is more enlightened than in the past.
Read MoreSmoking and the sea change in public health, 1945-2007
Introduction Parents should be prosecuted if they give alcohol to their children before the age of 15. Medical evidence says it's dangerous – and it's the government's duty to intervene. Eat your five portions of fruit and vegetables each day. It's good for you says the Chief Medical Officer. In 2007, we are used to […]
Read MoreThe ‘Department of the Prime Minister’ – should it continue?
Introduction Tony Blair's use of aides has been a defining feature of his term of office. Their number, terms of employment and the range and scope of their activities have been exceptional when compared with the teams supporting previous Prime Ministers. The number working in Blair's office at No.10 and its annexe at 70 Whitehall […]
Read MoreThe French Socialists and the legacy of a fragmented left
Introduction French Socialists since Mitterrand have wrestled with two main problems. First, their failure to agree on their objectives: are they still socialists and what does that mean today? Next, given that they can only hope to return to government as the leading partner within a 'plural left' alliance, what is their relationship with their […]
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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.
