1st Edition
The Routledge Guide to European Political Archives Sources since 1945
This new publication, a sister volume to the highly-acclaimed Routledge Guide to British Political Archives, provides a wide-ranging survey of the non-governmental archive sources for historians of post-war Europe. It provides, within a single volume, a rich treasure trove of resources drawn from the archives of the member states of the European Union and beyond. These major archive resources range from the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam to the Modern Records Centre at Warwick University, from the European University Institute at Florence to the Archive of Social Democracy near Bonn, from the Feltrinelli Institute in Milan to the Monnet Foundation in Lausanne.
The volume also concentrates on providing resources for areas of Europe’s modern political past now increasingly attracting serious historical research. They include the initial post-war reconstruction era, the rebirth of social democracy in Germany and Italy, the beginning of European integration, relations with Eastern Europe, the Cold War, decolonisation, the fall of Communism, and so forth. A vital part of the story is represented by the papers of the principal architects of European integration, such as Monnet, Spaak, Spinelli, Mansholt, and so forth. However, the remit of this volume extends far beyond statesmen and politicians. It aims to embrace a wider spectrum of European political activism – from libertarians to environmentalists, economists and human rights activists, campaigners for women’s rights, peace activists, anti-globalists, trade unionists, leaders of the student movement, anarchists, federalists and anti-federalists, and a plethora of others.
The wealth of information provided here will make this new publication the standard point of reference for students and historians.
Acknowledgements. Introduction. List of Abbreviations. Part 1: A Guide to the Archives of Selected Individuals Part 2: A Guide to the Archives of International Non-Governmental Organisations Part 3: A Guide to the Archives of Political Parties and Movements Part 4: Appendices. Bibliographical Note. Selected Archive Addresses and Websites. Index (of International and National Organisations). Index
Biography
Chris Cook, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, was educated at St Catherine’s College, Cambridge, before taking his doctorate at Nuffield College Oxford. Formerly Head of the Modern Archives Unit at the London School of Economics, he is co-author (with John Stevenson) of Britain in the Depression, Other publications include the Dictionary of Historical Terms and (with John Paxton) and European Political Facts of the Twentieth Century.
'Everyone involved in the history of democracy, research into electoral systems or in political journalism should make a daily obeisance to Chris Cook and urge the gods to make him immortal. For over thirty years he has assiduously produced a stream of remarkably reliable statistical volumes on a commendably wide area of national and international topics, all of which have shortened considerably the amount of time each of us would otherwise need to spend digging out crucial facts. This current volume is but the latest in along line of such tomes'. - Michael Meadowcroft
