The Myth of Absolutism
Enlightened despots or imperial new clothes? Nicholas Henshall takes a fresh look at the realities of power in the bureaucracies and rulers of ancien regime Europe.
Political
On the Turn: Japan, 1900
From isolation to Great Power status: Richard Perren explains how a mania for Westernisation led to Japan's transformation at the turn of the century.
Algeria: Thirty Years On
Martin Evans looks at the aftermath of the struggle for Algerian independence from France.
Marxism and Modern India
Dipesh Chakrabarty looks at the dialogue between nationalism and the inspiration of Marx in the formation of the world's largest democracy.
Louis XII: Medieval King or Renaissance Monarch?
A ruler in transition - Howell Lloyd looks at the icons of power that masked the face of French kingship around 1500.
Gender, Class and Nation
Leonore Davidoff on how women's history has been interwoven with debates on society and identity and its prospects for durability.
Gossip or Chronicler? Versailles and Saint-Simon
Michel Petheram assesses the importance and reliability of a courtier whose 'memoires' offer graphic vignettes of the last days of Louis XIV.
Irish Irenics
Andrew Boyd on past efforts to bring Ireland's warring factions to the peace table.
Soviet Marxism's Obituary?
Robert Service looks at how Gorbachev's revolution has left an open agenda for Soviet historians.
Chatham Revisited
Jeremy Black takes a fresh look at the career and reputation of the 'great outsider' of Hanoverian Britain.