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.
Monitoring the popular press: an historical perspective
Introduction How much further can the reputation of the popular press sink? Opinion polls routinely find that the level of public respect for journalists is pitifully low – one recent survey placed 'journalists on newspapers such as The Sun, Mirror or Daily Star' well below even government ministers and estate agents in terms of trustworthiness, […]
Read MoreSpiritual security in Putin’s Russia
Introduction In March 2002, a unique ceremony took place in central Moscow: the consecration of an Orthodox Church on the territory of the Lubianka headquarters of the Federal Security Agency (FSB), the chief successor to the KGB in contemporary Russia. Reportedly the fruit of an initiative of Putin dating to his tenure as FSB director, […]
Read MoreKnowledge and the gendered curriculum: the problematisation of girls’ achievement
Introduction Since the mid 1990s, girls have obtained increasingly better grades in school examinations, first at GCSE, and then at A- level. Far from causing a general expression of satisfaction that girls were doing well and catching up with the boys, this rather produced what Chris Woodhead (past Chief Inspector of Schools) described as: 'one […]
Read MoreThe hidden history of housing
Introduction My purpose in this paper is to explore aspects of the history of housing, in terms of housing based on local and popular initiative, self-help and mutual aid. It is important to remember that most of the world's population lives in houses built by themselves, their parents and grandparents and that the world's most […]
Read MoreConference Report: Political pressure and the archival record
Introduction The international scene today makes it plain that the compilation and use of records is a crucial factor in holding governments and public authorities accountable to their people. The management of records and historical archives has traditionally been seen as a neutral matter. The findings of this first international conference to examine the question […]
Read MoreIntelligence analysis needs to look backwards before looking forward
Introduction Twenty-nine years ago, as the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh, Pol Pot announced the beginning of Year Zero, insisting that Cambodia must disown its past and start again from scratch. There are nowadays some eminent voices in the United States who appear to tell us that Intelligence, too, must declare its Year Zero. To […]
Read MoreDemocratisation: historical lessons from the British case
Introduction Observers of democratisation talk about the process as running in phases. Internationally speaking, there have been several. Britain is one of a number of political systems that can be located in the first and most extended phase, beginning in the nineteenth century and 'completing' in the twentieth. It shared essentially evolutionary experiences, presided over […]
Read More‘Our fire and rescue service’: a local, regional or national responsibility?
Introduction History can deepen contemporary policy debate, and it demonstrates that questions over the local, regional and national status of the fire service are not new. It also reveals that the fire service has already undergone comprehensive reform during periods when national security has been threatened. Indeed, amidst heightened concern about terrorism, the service is […]
Read MoreFrom Herbert Morrison to command and control: the decline of local democracy
'Good Old 'Erb' Herbert Morrison was elected Labour Mayor of Hackney in 1920, one year after his party swept to power in a landslide victory that began a new age in London's local politics. His fellow London Labour Mayors numbered among them Major Clement Attlee in Stepney and George Lansbury in Poplar. Over the next […]
Read MoreThe animal cause and its greater traditions
Introduction It would not be too much of an exaggeration to say that compared to other lines of reform, animals unfortunately enjoy the status of a lesser cause. In most circles, they never seem to receive the kind of seriousness and respect people pay to other 'more important' issues concerning humans. However large a collective […]
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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.
