History and Policy
| Author | Francis J. Gavin |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070200806300113 |
| Date | 01 March 2008 |
| Published date | 01 March 2008 |
| Subject Matter | The Lessons of History |
Francis J. Gavin
History and policy
| 162 | International Journal | Winter 2007-08 |
Francis J. Gavin is the Tom Slick professor of international affairs at the LBJ School
of Public Affairs, and the founding director of studies for the Robert S. Strauss Center
for International Security and Law at the University of Texas at Austin. He also directs
“The next generation project: US global policy and the future of international institu-
tions,” a multiyear national initiative sponsored by The American Assembly at
Columbia University. He is the author of
Gold, Dollars, and Power: The Politics of
International Monetary Relations, 1958-1971
(2004).
What are the benefits, if any, to rigorously applying historical knowledge
and methodology to the making of US foreign policy? Are there advantages
for policymakers in thinking about the past in a serious way, and should
historians consider these decision-makers part of their audience?
The answer to all these questions would seem to be obvious. Most
would agree that, yes, a deep and sophisticated understanding of the past is
desirable for those making such important decisions. Asking professional
historians to include policymakers among their target audiences may be a
more contested notion, but one that should not be dismissed out of hand.
Surprisingly, however, there is little effort by either policymakers or histori-
ans to find common ground. To be sure, policymakers often employ “anec-
dotal” history, and popular histories, particularly biographies, are found on
the shelves of many decision-makers, yet there are few serious attempts by
what might be called “scholarly” historians, trained and employed by
THE LESSONS OF HISTORY
| International Journal | Winter 2007-08 | 163 |
| History and policy |
research universities, to write for a policy audience, nor is it common for
policymakers to access their work.
Exceptions exist, of course. Paul Kennedy’s
Rise and Fall of the Great
Powers
, while not explicitly written for a policy audience, was popular
among decision-makers because it was crafted in a way that engaged their
concerns.1A more notable example, however, is Ernest May’s classic text,
“
Lessons” of the Past
.2Written over three decades ago, May persuasively
argued that because those in power inevitably used their perceptions of the
past when framing policy choices, it made sense to teach them how to do it
more effectively. In the decade that followed, May teamed up with political
scientist Richard Neustadt to formalize this notion with a popular Harvard
policy school course and book of historical case studies oriented towards
those in government called
Thinking in Time
.3
“Lessons” of the Past
and
Thinking in Time
were admirable efforts to
help policymakers develop a better understanding of the past and how it
can inform policy choices. Both are still taught in a number of graduate pol-
icy schools. The books are decades old, however, and are not without their
flaws. Neither inspired much of a following among scholarly historians,
and there are very few historical works that explicitly followed their model.
The US government did not heed May’s call to staff the national security
bureaucracy with trained historians, nor have historians pursued with any
vigour the types of research questions suggested in “
Lessons” of the Past
.
DO POLICY AND HISTORY MIX?
Why aren’t there more examples of historical scholarship oriented towards
policymakers? At first glance, this is a puzzle. There are at least three
important reasons, however, why historians and policymakers don’t have a
more fruitful relationship
First, policymakers are not interested in the past for its own sake.
Forced to make difficult choices under enormous time pressures, govern-
ment officials want “usable” knowledge that provides guidance for making
1 Paul Kennedy,
The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military
Conflict from 1500 to 2000
(New York: Random House, 1987).
2 Ernest R. May,
“Lessons” of the Past: The Use and Misuse of History in American
Foreign Policy
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1975).
3 Ernest R. May and Richard E. Neustadt,
Thinking in Time: The Uses of History for
Decision Makers
(New York: Free Press, 1988).
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