On history Becoming History: The Case of World and New Global History

A partir de la diferencia entre historia -en el sentido de "conjunto de acontecimientos"- e Historia -en el de "esfuerzo consciente por reconstruir y comprender los acontecimientos del pasado"- se procura contemplar dos ejemplos concretos de cómo la historia se vuelve Historia: la Historia Mundial (World History) y la Nueva Historia Global (New Global History). Se describe el desarrollo de la Historia Mundial después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y se aporta un breve resumen de los planteamientos de William McNeill, de sus partidarios y de los teóricos del sistema mundial. A continuación se enumeran las diferencias entre la Historia Mundial y una incipiente Historia Global y se ofrece un esbozo de la naturaleza de esta última y de sus logros, poniendo el énfasis en su perspectiva sobre el espacio exterior, el papel de las comunicaciones vía satélite y la sinergia y sincronía de sus diversos elementos. Por fin, se discute el proceso de globalización, que ha provocado el surgimiento de la Nueva Historia Global, y se propone la tesis de que está cambiando el modo en que hacemos la "Historia"

Beyond the merchant and the clergyman: assessing moral claims about development cooperation

This article proposes to move beyond the categories of altruism and self-interest in the analyses of the motives for development cooperation. This opposition ignores the inherently moral nature of development policy. The article illustrates the shortcomings of such a perspective by tracing the metaphor of the merchant and the clergyman as archetypical figures shaping Dutch development policy. Through these images the suggestion of an opposition between moral and amoral motives in the history of development has gained a strong foothold within the interplay of scholars, policy makers and public opinion. We go on to assess claims about economy, security, solidarity, prestige and guilt, and ecology, which have been brought forward to legitimise Dutch foreign aid. This analysis calls for research on the dynamics of the transnational exchanges of ideas, interests and expectations, especially during episodes when the moral validity of policy has been explicitly contested

The breakdown of connections and modern development. by Bruce Mazlish

Understanding development today is fostered by the reexamination of the first industrial revolution and the social theories and concepts constructed therefrom

The Joy of War and the Future of Humanity

The title is in imitation of Julia Child's Joy of Cooking and Alex Comfort's Joy of Sex (although theirs are about “how to,” and mine is a critical essay.) I choose this title because there is a widespread aversion to war today in many quarters. Academic historians are often anti-war and thus unconsciously or consciously skimp in their attention to the subject. (A possible exception to this thesis is the popularity of books on the Civil War in the USA.) Yet, overall, it is clearly one of the most important subjects in the course of human events. Thus, although in principle against war myself, I have been brought to doing much research and thought on the subject

Globalization Nationalized

Globalism and globalization have been seen as competitors to other allegiances, namely regionalism and nationalism. A look at recent efforts at reconceptualizing global history in China, Korea and the U.S., however, suggests that this competition is overdrawn, and that nationalist agendas in particular have found their way into global studies

The revolutionary ascetic : evolution of a political type

viii, 261 p.; 20 cm