How can current social
and political issues be interpreted in a historical context?
We are a vibrant and engaged group of researchers and teachers who, despite the variety of our thematic specialisms, are all equally interested in investigating the complexities of society’s political past in all its dimensions, and in using that investigation to better understand the present. From early modern Europe to modern Indonesia, from individual politicians to mass social movements, we study a range of past political actors in diverse arenas, consistently asking ourselves,
“What individuals, groups, and institutions have the power to shape society, and how and why do they do that?”
Areas of expertise: political parties | political violence | political ideas | reforms | revolution | war and peace processes | Holocaust | genocide | democracy | citizenship | welfare state | nation-building