List of History articles
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Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower ride in a car. An Iranian-Led Coup Still Needed America’s Help
Despite revisionist claims, documents show the critical U.S. role in Mosaddeq’s fall.
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Cillian Murphy, wearing a hat and suit, faces toward the Trinity tower test site where the first atomic bomb was detonated as a truck drives by in a scene from Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer’s Long Shadow
Reads on the atomic bomb and its creator.
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U.K. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer waits to be introduced on stage in Gillingham, England. What Kind of Prime Minister Will Keir Starmer Be?
Oliver Eagleton’s book on the Labour leader blends leftist critique with biography, presenting a comprehensive account of a deeply ambiguous figure.
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Margot Robbie as Barbie and Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer stand in front of an apocalyptic pink and orange clouded desert landscape in a photo illustration for the two movies. Barbie wears her iconic black-and-white-striped swimsuit and sunglasses, and Oppenheimer a period hat and suit with cigarette in hand. ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ Have More in Common Than You Think
Both films attempt to atone for the complicated legacies of American icons. Only one succeeds.
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Sculptures known as the “Benin Bronzes” are pictured at the German Foreign Ministry during a ceremony for the signing of an agreement of intent to return them to Nigeria, in Berlin, Germany, on July 1, 2022. The Moral Flaw in the Case Against Returning African Art
The argument that African countries should be disqualified from getting back their stolen artifacts because of past sins is deeply hypocritical.
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People line up outside a store in Siberia in early 1991 before the collapse of the Soviet Union. An Epic History of the Soviet Everyday
Karl Schlögel re-creates a lost world of long lines and shared spaces.
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A competitor dressed as a Spartan warrior takes part in the 2010 Tough Guy race in England, as fire rages in the background. Spartans Were Losers
The U.S. military’s admiration of a proto-fascist city-state is based on bad history.
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A giant orange mushroom cloud explodes on the horizon during the first atomic bomb test in New Mexico on July 16, 1945. The Long Shadow of Oppenheimer’s Trinity Test
Today’s nukes would make the destroyer of worlds shudder.
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People browse books as part of the world's longest outdoor bookcase at Bondi Beach in Sydney. The Definitive Summer Reading Guide for National Security Nerds
Your vacation (hopefully) awaits. And here are the best books to pair with it.
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A black and white print overlaid with a red star shows Russian Tsar Peter the Great holding up a glass in a toast after beheading one of the Streltsy rebels in front of his nobles. A headless figure rests on the ground and other people surround the tsar with lifted glasses. Putin’s Fear of Strong Generals Is as Old as Russia Itself
Prigozhin’s rise and fall is the latest example of what happens when a ruler in Moscow fears the power of military underlings.
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Soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 331st Infantry Regiment take cover from German fire near the village of Périers in Normandy, France, in July 1944. Stop Comparing Ukraine to World War I
Normandy in 1944 is a much better historical analogy—and it counsels patience.
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Summer-2023-Book-Reviews-3 Foreign Policy’s Summer Reading List
Our columnists and reporters’ top picks, from a 16th-century treatise to a ’90s fantasy novel.
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A black-and-white photograph shows former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, a middle-aged man wearing a white, collarless shirt. He is holding a pen and smiling as he looks off to the side. The Great Fight Over India’s Myths
Modi’s party is intent on demonizing Nehru, the country’s first prime minister. A new book adds nuance to the debate.
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A demonstrator waves an Egyptian flag on a rooftop overlooking Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Lessons for the Next Arab Spring
Ten years after Egypt’s coup, Washington has yet to learn that authoritarian stability is an illusion.
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Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg sits with Indigenous Sámi activists during a protest against the Fosen Vind energy project in Oslo on March 2. Norwegians Get a Bitter Taste of Their Own History
A new report paints a damning picture of Oslo’s treatment of Indigenous people. But it may lack the teeth to effect lasting change.
