Historians IB History

Odd Arne Westad – Chinese Civil War

Norwegian | London School of Economics | International/Cold War historian

Perspective: Chinese Civil War was a Cold War conflict shaped by ideology and superpower involvement. Mao’s success tied to pragmatic leadership and rural mobilization.

Rana Mitter – Chinese Civil War

British | University of Oxford | Modern China specialist

Perspective: Emphasizes WWII’s impact in weakening Nationalists. Communist success rooted in nationalism and peasant support.

Paul Preston – Spanish Civil War

British | London School of Economics | Political historian

Perspective: Strongly anti-Franco; sees war as democracy vs fascism. Foreign intervention was decisive; Western democracies failed Spain.

Helen Graham – Spanish Civil War

British | Royal Holloway | Social/gender historian

Perspective: Highlights social resistance and women’s roles. Emphasizes Republican fragmentation and Franco’s brutal repression.

Louis A. Pérez Jr. – Cuban Revolution

American | University of North Carolina | Latin American historian

Perspective: Focuses on Cuban nationalism and anti-imperialism. U.S. policies pushed Cuba toward revolution.

Thomas G. Paterson – Cuban Revolution

American | University of Connecticut | Diplomatic historian

Perspective: U.S. refusal to support reform radicalized revolutionaries. Shift toward socialism driven by external pressure.

Fredrik Logevall – Indochina War

Swedish-American | Harvard University | Cold War/diplomatic historian

Perspective: Indochina War was colonial and Cold War conflict. U.S. misjudged Vietnamese nationalism, missed peace opportunities.

Martin Windrow – Indochina War

British | Independent | Military historian

Perspective: Focus on Dien Bien Phu. French underestimated Giap’s strategy and overused outdated tactics.

William J. Duiker – Indochina War

American | Penn State University | Vietnam specialist

Perspective: War driven by anti-colonial nationalism. Ho Chi Minh was pragmatic; Communism secondary to independence.

John Lewis Gaddis – Cold War

American | Yale University | Post-revisionist historian

Perspective: Blame shared between USSR and USA. Cold War began from fear and misperceptions, not ideology alone.

Melvyn Leffler – Cold War

American | University of Virginia | Realist/national security historian

Perspective: U.S. containment based on global dominance strategy, not just ideology.

Sergey Radchenko – Cold War

Russian | Johns Hopkins | Soviet archival historian

Perspective: Uses new archives to show Soviet insecurities. Emphasizes agency of smaller Cold War states like China and Cuba.

Orlando Figes – Russian Revolution

British | Birkbeck, University of London | Social/cultural historian

Perspective: Focuses on ordinary people. Sees 1917 as tragic outcome of social unrest and leadership failures.

Richard Pipes – Russian Revolution

American (Polish-born) | Harvard | Conservative/anti-communist historian

Perspective: Blames Marxism for totalitarianism. Views Bolsheviks as illegitimate elite.

Sheila Fitzpatrick – Russian Revolution

Australian-American | University of Chicago | Social historian

Perspective: Focuses on class, daily life, and grassroots support. Bolsheviks survived by adapting, not just repressing.

Margaret MacMillan – Versailles Treaty

Canadian | University of Oxford | Diplomatic historian

Perspective: Versailles wasn’t uniquely harsh. Instability caused by unrealistic expectations and lack of enforcement.

Gerhard Weinberg – WWII Origins

American (German-born) | UNC Chapel Hill | WWII historian

Perspective: Hitler ideologically driven. German policy rooted in expansion; appeasement failed.

Tim Bouverie – Appeasement

British | Independent | Modern Europe historian

Perspective: Sees appeasement as fear-driven and misjudged. Chamberlain well-meaning but naïve.