Department of International History, LSE

Department of International History, LSE LSE's Department of International History teaches and conducts research on the international history

LSE's Department of International History teaches and conducts research on the international history of Britain, Europe and the world from the early modern era up to the present day. The department encourages debate and discussion of past events and historical controversies. Within an international framework its members explore such major subjects as the causes and conduct of wars; the crafting of

peace settlements; the development of societies over time and their transnational connections; the emergence of empires and their governance; the rise of nationalism; the interactions between the state and religious beliefs; colonialism and decolonization; civil wars and insurgencies; the world wars of the twentieth century; and the development and ramifications of the Cold War. With a permanent academic staff of 27, around 190 postgraduate students, and 300 undergraduates, we are a large, diverse and welcoming Department, whose members are drawn from all over the world. We are committed to academic excellence and providing an absorbing learning environment for all our students, who we aim to give the fullest possible opportunity to fulfil their full potential. The Department of International has performed impressively in several recent university league tables. The QS World University History Subject Table for 2019 ranks History at LSE 6th overall in the world and one of 3 UK and European universities in the top 10.

On Tuesday we had the pleasure of hosting Dr Renata Keller who spoke about her new book, ‘The Fate of the Americas: The ...
04/06/2026

On Tuesday we had the pleasure of hosting Dr Renata Keller who spoke about her new book, ‘The Fate of the Americas: The Cuban Missile Crisis and the Hemispheric Cold War’. The event was chaired by Dr Tanya Harmer.

Dr Keller spoke about how despite twenty-first-century fears of nuclear conflagrations with North Korea, Russia, and Iran, the Cuban Missile Crisis is the closest the United States has come to nuclear war. That history has largely been a bilateral narrative of the US-USSR struggle for postwar domination, with Cuba as the central staging ground—a standard account that obscures the shock waves that reverberated throughout Latin America. Drawing on sources from across the hemisphere, this first hemispheric examination of the Cuban Missile Crisis shows how leaders and ordinary citizens throughout the region caused, participated in, and were profoundly affected by the Cuban Missile Crisis.

If you missed this event and would like to catch up, we have a recording on our website here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/International-History/Podcasts

LSE ranked no. 1 for history in the Complete University Guide 2026The Complete University Guide is a leading, independen...
03/06/2026

LSE ranked no. 1 for history in the Complete University Guide 2026

The Complete University Guide is a leading, independent online platform that ranks UK higher education institutions and helps prospective students choose universities and courses. It is one of the most widely used and trusted resources by students, parents, and advisors navigating the UK university system.

They supply a range of different gradings and this year we are pleased to announce that we have jumped four places in the subject league tables to take the top spot!

See the full list of rankings here: https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings/history

Professor Antony Best has co-edited a new book, 'British Foreign and Defence Policy in the Twentieth Century, Volume II'...
03/06/2026

Professor Antony Best has co-edited a new book, 'British Foreign and Defence Policy in the Twentieth Century, Volume II'.

A tribute to the distinguished diplomatic historian, Professor Michael Dockrill (1936-2018), this collection provides a comprehensive overview of the field of twentieth-century British foreign and strategic policy. With contributions from the most esteemed academic thinkers in the field, this collection will be of great value to anyone interested in British foreign and defence policy, whether they are a senior academic or an undergraduate researcher. In memory of the late Professor Dockrill, the essays place British foreign policy in a wide range of geographical, thematic and chronological perspectives.

Volume II focuses on British foreign and strategic policy from the fall of France in 1940 to the end of the Cold War in Europe during the 1990s. The emphasis on the Cold War reflects Professor Dockrill’s interests in the later part of his career. The chapters explore British imperial and post-colonial history, as well as the impact of race and religion on British foreign policy duringthe second half of the twentieth century. British relations with the United Nations are also examined through the formulation of the so-called ‘Special Relationship’.

The book has been published by Palgrave Macmillan and a link can be found here: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-14307-5?as=webp

Last Thursday we hosted Professor Michael Khodarkovsky who spoke about his new book ‘The Steppe and its Empires: The Rus...
01/06/2026

Last Thursday we hosted Professor Michael Khodarkovsky who spoke about his new book ‘The Steppe and its Empires: The Russian Empire and its Eurasian Counterparts’

Michael discussed how, throughout its existence, Russia has been a hybrid empire shaped by both Europe and Asia. Focusing on the formation of the Russian state between the sixteenth and the mid-nineteenth centuries, he examined Russia’s structural similarities with its neighbours in Asia―the Ottoman, Persian, Mughal, and Chinese empires. While most historians have noted the transformations that brought Russia closer to modern European societies, the Russian empire’s shared characteristics with its non-European counterparts remain poorly understood.

Michael went on to reveal the critical role of the Eurasian steppe in the formation of the empires, whose military-social institutions and political culture were distinctly different from those of the West. Ultimately, he argued that Russia is best understood as a hybrid Eurasian empire whose steppe origins and fluid frontiers propelled its relentless expansion, producing a vastly diverse society with a blurred sense of national identity.

Listen to the recording here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/International-History/Podcasts

'The “Ventotene Moment”: Revolutionary Federalism in World War II Europe' revisits one of the founding texts of European...
29/05/2026

'The “Ventotene Moment”: Revolutionary Federalism in World War II Europe' revisits one of the founding texts of European federalism and asks how it has been remembered—and misunderstood.

By placing the 1941 Manifesto within the political debates of wartime antifascism, socialism, and liberal socialism, the article argues that its revolutionary vision of a supranational European federation has often been obscured by later narratives of European integration. Rather than a roadmap to the present-day EU, the manifesto emerged from a moment of crisis, exile, and radical political expectation.

Read the article in full here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-intellectual-history/article/ventotene-moment-revolutionary-federalism-in-world-war-ii-europe/C776620BECBB4D01D3B3A39207B4C3E8

Join us next Tuesday 2 June as Dr Renata Keller speaks about her new book, ‘The fate of the Americas: the Cuban Missile ...
28/05/2026

Join us next Tuesday 2 June as Dr Renata Keller speaks about her new book, ‘The fate of the Americas: the Cuban Missile Crisis and the hemispheric cold war’.

Despite twenty-first-century fears of nuclear conflagrations with North Korea, Russia, and Iran, the Cuban Missile Crisis is the closest the United States has come to nuclear war.

That history has largely been a bilateral narrative of the US-USSR struggle for postwar domination, with Cuba as the central staging ground—a standard account that obscures the shock waves that reverberated throughout Latin America.

Drawing on sources from across the hemisphere, this first hemispheric examination of the Cuban Missile Crisis shows how leaders and ordinary citizens throughout the region caused, participated in, and were profoundly affected by the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Register here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/international-history/events/the-fate-of-the-americas-the-cuban-missile-crisis-and-the-hemispheric-cold-war

"Catholic Values and Gender Politics in the Colombian Mass Media: Acción Cultural Popular (ACPO) in the 1970s" examines ...
27/05/2026

"Catholic Values and Gender Politics in the Colombian Mass Media: Acción Cultural Popular (ACPO) in the 1970s" examines how the Catholic non-governmental organisation Acción Cultural Popular (Popular Cultural Action, ACPO) responded to women's changing roles and political protagonism through its radio station “Radio Sutatenza.”

Through close attention to recordings and programme scripts of the 1979 radio series Curso La Familia, it analyses the construction and performance of gender on the radio and draws attention to Catholicism's continued influence over Colombian society in the latter twentieth century.

Read the article in full here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1468-0424.70040

The winners of our teaching awards for 2025/26 have been announced.This year's teaching award winners from the Departmen...
26/05/2026

The winners of our teaching awards for 2025/26 have been announced.

This year's teaching award winners from the Department are:

Dr Rachel Chua, Guest Teacher – LSE class teacher award

Dr Charlotte Eaton, LSE Fellow – Martin Abel Gonzalez prize

Dr Agis Papageorgiou, Guest Teacher – LSE class teacher award

Dr Richard Saich, LSE Fellow – LSE class teacher award

The annual Teaching Awards are decided by the results of our teaching surveys which are completed by all students during the Autumn Term and once again during the Winter Term.

Well done everyone! We are very proud of the hard work you have been putting in and it's great to see this appreciated by our students.

LSE-Yale Seminar in Contemporary International History - Call for Papers.The LSE-Yale Seminar in Contemporary Internatio...
22/05/2026

LSE-Yale Seminar in Contemporary International History - Call for Papers.

The LSE-Yale Seminar in Contemporary International History—a joint seminar between the LSE International History Department and the Department of History at Yale University—invites proposals for the 2026-2027 academic year.

The seminar welcomes scholars who are close to submitting their PhD or have completed it to share work-in-progress on any aspect of international history of the long 20th century, broadly defined. We encourage a wide range of different approaches including research exploring transnational networks, non-state actors, and geographies beyond the Global North. The seminar is open to post-PhD scholars at all stages of their career.

Presenters will be asked to submit a 15-20 page paper ten days before their presentation. During the seminar, presenters will introduce their work for no more than 15 minutes followed by comments from a discussant and wider Q&A discussion.

All seminars will be hybrid—both in-person in London and New Haven as well as on Zoom—normally on Thursdays from 5pm in London and 12pm in New Haven.

Applicants are welcome to join us in London, New Haven, or online.

Applicants should submit a provisional title, a brief 250-word abstract, and a CV to [email protected] by August 28, 2026.

Organisers: Tanya Harmer, Piers Ludlow (LSE International History) and Laura Robson (Department of History, Yale University).

Address

Houghton Street
London
WC2A2AE

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Friday 9:30am - 5:30pm

Telephone

+442079556174

Website

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