Hiroshima and the Historians: History as Relative Truth

As is clear from the historiography of the US decision to use the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the judgments of historians are relative to the time, place, and perspective from which they are writing. There are four major schools of historical interpretation of the decision. First is the orthodox view that was offered by the participants in the decision. Second is the revisionist view of historians writing during the era of the Vietnam war who adopted a much more critical interpretation. Third is an interpretive school that gives weight to the Japanese role and responsibility. Finally, the author's view is found in a more long-range perspective that finds the momentum created by President Roosevelt's unconditional surrender policy as the decisive factor. This policy provoked unconditional resistance in the Japanese military. By 1945 the legacy of Roosevelt's policy was firmly embedded in American public opinion. Historians have reached no consensus among these different interpretive schools.     

Trust: Why and How Historians Should Study It

Recent scholarship has examined the decline of trust between citizens and the elected representatives, which is seemingly a hallmark of contemporary Western democracies. But the problem is not new. This study draws on newspaper accounts to trace the accumulation and erosion of trust in the Scullin federal Labor government, during its early months. Elected on 12 October 1929, James Scullin's government was expected to resolve the long‐running New South Wales’ miners’ strike; his deputy, E.G. Theodore, promised Labor would return the miners to work on pre‐stoppage conditions. The promise was undeliverable. The lockout dragged on through Scullin's first months in office, with the miners refusing to work on reduced wages and the government unable to deliver on Theodore's pledge. By the end of January 1930, the government's trust relations with its core constituency had unraveled. This case study illustrates how trust is made and unmade through complex relations between individuals, and between individuals and institutions.     

The Art of Time Travel: Historians and their Craft

The Art of Time Travel: Historians and their Craft. By Tom Griffiths (Melbourne: Black Inc., 2016), pp. xviii + 326. AU$34.99 (pb).     

“Unbounded Enthusiasm”:1 Australian Historians and the Outbreak of the Great War

There is a growing body of European scholarship revising the traditionally held view that the peoples of Europe greeted the war with boundless patriotic enthusiasm. Niall Ferguson, Jean-Jacques Becker and Jeffery Verhey in particular have argued that the “August Days” were more myth than reality. The outbreak of the war in Australia has not yet attracted similar attention. With few exceptions, Australian scholars writing about the opening days and weeks of the war have agreed that Australian popular reaction was dominated by overwhelming enthusiasm. This paper will explore the Australian historiography, since the 1930s, and assess the extent to which the “traditional” interpretation is in need of re-investigation.     

Alternative narratives and collective memories: Israel's New Historians and the use of historical context

Abstract

The article presents a new overview on economic transition in Egypt, emphasizing the role of culture in shaping its recent economic history. Since partial independence, and culminating in the heyday of the Nasserite regime, ‘economic nationalism’ became a predominant national identity mark and a concept central to a local sense of authenticity. The article discusses the meaning of economic nationalism and why it turned such a powerful symbol of Egyptianness. The prevalence of this idea slowed down a transformation to an alternative economic regime when the development effort associated with economic nationalism partially failed. Instead, a huge and unregulated (‘hidden’) economy emerged, together with a corollary local consumer society. Fiercely resisted in a public discourse captivated by an older economic imagination, both have still shaped the Egyptian economy ever since.     

The Conscientious Communist. Ernie Lane and the Rise of Australian Socialism

The Conscientious Communist. Ernie Lane and the Rise of Australian Socialism. By Jeff Rickertt (North Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2016), pp.xii + 322, black and white illustrations. AU$39.95 (pb).     

从一国社会主义到中国改革开放

马克思主义创始人考察了人类社会发展的历史,论证了资本主义发达的高度将是社会主义的基础,因而设想,社会主义将会在英、法、德、美等先进资本主义国家最先建立。历史的发展和革命运动的实际却是尚未完成民主主义革命任务、相对落后的俄国,率先建立了社会主义国家。这样,第一次世界大战催生的俄国社会发展顺序的颠倒,就把世界社会主义运动聚...