An individual’s affiliation to a politically constituted community is decisive for their opportunities in life and often vital to their survival. This talk will argue that the primary signifier of political affiliation in 20th century Europe is “citizenship.” The importance attached to citizenship is what distinguishes the 20th century significantly from previous historical periods and […]

The United States, China and Russia (at least until recently) stand out as contemporary superpowers able to support allies across the globe. What do each of these countries offer would-be client states and groups in the Middle East, and how do their approaches differ? Can Gulf Arab monarchies and states such as Iran, Israel, Egypt […]

The Caspian Sea, the world’s largest inland lake, was an important point for commercial and strategic reasons. Much of the historiography on the Caspian locates the emergence of this region as a site of competitive tension in the eighteenth century. But a map of the Caspian brought back to Europe by the Dutchman Nicolaas Witsen […]