Political

By the late 1920s, Stalin and the Soviet Union seemed on the road to totalitarianism. Did the system spawn a monster – or a monster the system? 

When the Japanese invaded Manchuria in 1931, resistance came not from the Chinese government, but from plucky local groups who waged guerrilla war, Anthony Coogan uncovers their little-known story and explains why it remained so.

Colin Richmond analyses the part played by the written (and spoken) word in shoring up popular allegiances to the rival dynasties

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.

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.

Martin Evans looks at the aftermath of the struggle for Algerian independence from France.

Dipesh Chakrabarty looks at the dialogue between nationalism and the inspiration of Marx in the formation of the world's largest democracy.

A ruler in transition - Howell Lloyd looks at the icons of power that masked the face of French kingship around 1500.

Leonore Davidoff on how women's history has been interwoven with debates on society and identity and its prospects for durability.

Michel Petheram assesses the importance and reliability of a courtier whose 'memoires' offer graphic vignettes of the last days of Louis XIV.