Cold War

The question asked by Werner Sombart in 1906 grew in relevance as the 20th century progressed. Why are leftist politics anathema to Washington – both at home and abroad?

Was it the mob? A coup? Cuban dissidents? War hawks? 60 years after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the theories are still debated. Do any of them hold up?

In 1973, Egyptian soldiers hoisted their flag over Sinai, smashing the myth of Israeli invincibility. Fifty years on from the October War, who claims the victory: the president or the people?

One man more than any other is associated with Singapore’s remarkable success. On his centenary: who was Lee Kuan Yew and how did he do it?

Popularizing the Past: Historians, Publishers, and Readers in Postwar America by Nick Witham explores the industry of popular history from Daniel Boorstin to Howard Zinn.

Privatisation of Chile’s natural resources was a pillar of Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship.

Theft in East Germany was so common as to be nicknamed ‘the people’s sport’. Why were citizens of the GDR so light-fingered?

For 13 days in October 1962 the world watched Cuba with bated breath. What was the view like from the epicentre of the missile crisis?

Announced on 12 March 1947 with the intention of containing Soviet expansion, the Truman Doctrine is sometimes seen as the first declaration of the Cold War. Four experts ask whether the conflict’s legacy is a defining one.