Transnational History, by Pierre-Yves Saunier
| Date | 01 December 2016 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702016688403 |
| Published date | 01 December 2016 |
| Author | Renéo Lukic |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
Pierre-Yves Saunier
Transnational History
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. 193 pages. $35.99 (paper)
ISBN 978–0–230–27185–2
Reviewed by: Rene
´o Lukic, Universite
´Laval, Quebec
Professor Pierre-Yves Saunier of Laval University in Canada has played a leading
role in defining the field of transnational history, which has seen tremendous
growth in recent years. His previous publications include The Palgrave
Dictionary of Transnational History: From the Mid-19
th
Century to the Present
Day (2009), which he co-edited with Professor Akira Iriye, and which quickly
became an indispensable introduction to the study of transnational history.
A few years later, Saunier published Transnational History as part of Palgrave’s
Theory and History series. An important and stimulating book, Transnational
History has become a sort of manual of transnational history, a ‘‘little vade
mecum’’, as the author names it (12 and 141). Besides being a guide to trans-
national history, the book also serves as a historiographic introduction to the
field, offering an overview of relevant scholarly debates and varieties of practice.
The book opens with a tentative definition of transnational history, itself a much
disputed issue. For Saunier, transnational history is first an approach, a perspective
that underlines ‘‘what works between and through units that humans have set up to
organize their collective life’’ (2). It is an approach that focuses on the intercon-
nectedness of peoples and societies; thus, cross-national connections are at the core.
Transnational history investigates the entanglements between polities, societies,
and communities. Empirical research involving transnational history covers bor-
derland studies, migrations, diasporas, human rights, and the environment among
others themes. It differs from global history, which deals with the main problems of
global change over time, together with the diverse histories of globalization (3).
It also differs from diplomatic, or international, history, which examines the
foreign relations between governments and states.
Indeed, according to Saunier and other historians exploring transnational
themes, history as a discipline has focused almost exclusively on nation-states
and regions (area studies). For far too long, non-state actors and their international
networks were left out. Transnational historians call this a ‘‘nation-centred’’ per-
spective on modern history. Still today nation and state are central subjects of
historical investigation, and this trend will likely continue because of the centrality
of nation-states in domestic politics and in international relations. The period after
1945 alone witnessed the creation of 121 of the 193 states that existed up to 2006.
This proliferation of new states has generated enormous interest in the writing of
national histories. Historians writing comparative, global, or transnational history
often comment on this propensity for studying national histories as a kind of
‘‘tyrannie du national’’ (139). Within this field, meanwhile, the majority of histor-
ians specialize in studying the history of politically and economically influential
nations, even when they are comparing states or writing regional histories (118).
670 International Journal 71(4)
To continue reading
Request your trial