The first twenty years of the twenty-first century have witnessed a seemingly never-ending sequence of global calamities. From 9/11 and the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 to the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2009 and Great Recession, the Arab Spring, the Syrian civil war, Brexit, the 2016 election of Donald Trump, and the 2020 COVID…
Category: Essays
H-Diplo Essay 503- Isabel V. Hull on Learning the Scholar’s Craft
The H-Diplo editors have asked about the “formative years” of scholars’ interest in international affairs. I honestly don’t know where it all started. I was a nerdy kid interested in history, natural and (I guess) unnatural, and politics very early on. I was an avid reader of Time, despite its “strange inverted Timestyle” (“Backward ran…
H-Diplo Essay 450- J. Samuel Walker on Learning the Scholar’s Craft
I came to a career as a professional historian naturally but indirectly. I began my college education at the University of Delaware as a pre-med major. The curriculum was heavily weighted toward the sciences, and I quickly concluded that biology was tedious, chemistry was bewildering, and physics was incomprehensible. By contrast, my history courses were…
H-Diplo Essay 448- Thomas G. Paterson on Learning the Scholar’s Craft
“Excuse me, sir,” an aide interrupts the president. “History is here to see you.” George W. Bush perks up. “History?” The assistant explains: “He seems ready to render a judgment.” Taken aback, the chief executive asks: “What about my papers? I don’t want him snooping around my papers!” No problem. “Already locked up forever, sir….
H-Diplo Essay 444- George C. Herring on Learning the Scholar’s Craft
I have often reflected that through some stroke of good fortune I drifted rather aimlessly into a career that has been rewarding and immensely satisfying. As a student at Roanoke College, 1953-1957, I could have been a poster boy for the so-called Silent Generation: apolitical, devoid of ambition and sense of purpose, floating with an…
H-Diplo Essay 443- Francis M. Carroll on Learning the Scholar’s Craft
I have so enjoyed reading this series of articles in H-Diplo by diplomatic historians on how they came to this profession. What particularly has fascinated me are the twists, turns, and chance that somewhat improbably led so many to rewarding careers in the study and teaching of the history of international affairs. I certainly fall…
H-Diplo Essay 441- James H. Lebovic on Learning the Scholar’s Craft
I have never been one for introspection. I tend to look forward, not backward. I suppose, however, that a career in international politics is a natural choice for me, given my own family history. If not for World War II, my parents would not have met. Then, global politics became a family affair, with relatives…
Review Essay 65 on Following the Leader: International Order, Alliance Strategies, and Emulation
Military alliances are a crucial and much-studied aspect of world politics. They are also a defining feature of US grand strategy. During its tenure as the leading state in the international system, the United States has assembled an unprecedented network of security relationships that extend across the globe, including its multilateral alliance with other members…
H-Diplo Essay 437- Roger Dingman on Learning the Scholar’s Craft
How did I become the American international and naval historian that I am? I suppose it all began with stories. Bible stories on Friday afternoons at the Catholic elementary school I attended. Stories from the Book of Mormon that my grandmother told me. Stories depicted in the Works Progress Administration (WPA) artists’ murals at the…
H-Diplo Essay 435- John Lamberton Harper on Learning the Scholar’s Craft
n the beginning was a name: John “Jack” Lamberton, the twin of Hugh, and one of my mother’s four brothers. They grew up in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia in the 20s and 30s. Their father, Robert E. Lamberton, was the Republican mayor of Philadelphia at the time of his death in 1941. After Pearl…
