Applied History in Practice
A Case Study in Applied History: Commissioning Historical Papers for the UK’s National Security Secretariat
By Dr Andrew Ehrhardt, Dr Maeve Ryan and Dr Oliver Yule-Smith
Foreword by Dr Graham Allison
Foreword:
Ten years ago, my colleague Niall Ferguson and I published the Applied History Manifesto and launched the Applied History Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. Defining Applied History as the explicit attempt to illuminate current challenges and choices by analyzing historical precedents and analogues, we called for “revitalizing” its practice in the academy and promoting its use in government. The Manifesto notes the marked “history deficit” in policymaking today. The past decade has seen a healthy revival of Applied History around the world.
One core node in today’s Applied History network is the Centre for Statecraft and National Security, formerly the Centre for Grand Strategy, at King’s College London. Our colleagues there have energetically taken up the task set out in the Manifesto. Their Case Study in Applied History: Commissioning Historical Papers for the UK’s National Security Secretariat is the result of their collaboration with the UK government to inject historical perspective into its Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy. As a model example of Applied History, this project demonstrates how history, rigorously applied, can illuminate today’s headline choices and challenges.
As the authors explain in their preface, the Centre assembled carefully researched and clearly communicated case studies, produced rapid-response memos on questions posed directly by policy officials, and embedded doctoral researchers inside the UK Cabinet Office. The Centre drew inspiration from an analogous effort undertaken by esteemed historians during the world wars to write a number of “handbooks” for policymakers.
Historians working in policy must be alert to live debates and make their expertise useful and accessible to busy policymakers. A Case Study in Applied History offers a clarifying example of how historians can rise to these challenges and meaningfully contribute to better policymaking. It offers valuable reading both for those aspiring to practice Applied History and for policymakers committed to effective statecraft.
