History’s Dead-Hand Grip Illustrates How the Use and Misuse of History Shape the Politics and Statecraft of Countries Around the World

Hoover Institution (Stanford, CA)- What explains a ruling family's grip on power in North Korea, a rising new founding narrative in Saudi Arabia, and the failure of diplomatic solutions in Israel?

Each of those instances involves a nation-state applying history to its politics in novel, if not always successful, ways.

In History's Dead-Hand Grip: Politics, Statecraft, and "Lessons" of the Past, a new collection of essays edited by historians Joseph Ledford and Daniel J. Sargent, with a foreword by Senior Fellow Stephen Kotkin, and published by Hoover Institution Press, scholars interrogate how historical reasoning informs statecraft across the globe.

The book is inspired by the work of American historian Ernest R. May, a pioneer in applied history, a field in which studies of the past help formulate policy for the present.

Ledford and Sargent examine US history, as May did, assessing the historical record on the Monroe Doctrine and other Founder-era initiatives to understand contemporary American foreign policy. And they have invited emerging scholars including Ria Roy, Cole Bunzel, Matthew Lowenstein and Dian Zhong, to take May's methods further, turning the lens beyond the United States toward Asia, the Middle East, and South America.

The collection's broad scope includes Brazil's middle-power ambitions, the shifting sands of Israeli and Saudi statecraft, the building of a leadership cult in North Korea, and the artificial intelligence revolution currently in progress.

Among its important contributions, this book:

• examines countries rarely covered by practitioners of applied history (Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Israel, North Korea, and Indonesia), tackling head-on how policymakers have used the past;
• brings Ernest May's insights into the chaotic landscape of the twenty-first century;
• demonstrates the double-edged sword of historical reasoning's power, which can be a vital compass for prudent policy or a trap that produces strategic error; and
• offers practical insights for using the past with greater rigor, humility, and attention to context and contingency.

Drawing on papers presented at a Hoover History Lab conference in May 2025, this book promises to become a classic in the ever-expanding field of applied history and an informative and fascinating resource for academics, policymakers, and anyone with an interest in the uses and misuses of history.

About the Editors:

Joseph Ledford is an assistant professor of security studies and director of research at the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas at Austin and a Griffin Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Daniel J. Sargent is the Alexander F. and May T. Morrison Professor at UC Berkeley, with appointments in the Department of History and the Goldman School of Public Policy.

Advance Praise for History's Dead-Hand Grip:

"An engaging demonstration of ways in which applying history can illuminate present predicaments and future probabilities."
-Graham Allison, Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School

"An invaluable resource [that] will help readers avoid blunders associated with ignorance of the past as well as the facile application of historical experience."
-H.R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty, Battlegrounds, and At War with Ourselves

"This smart, accessible, and compelling volume is an essential guide to using history to improve statecraft."
-Francis J. Gavin, Giovanni Agnelli Distinguished Professor and director of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

For coverage opportunities, contact Jeffrey Marschner, 202-760-3187, [email protected] .