History's Dead-Hand Grip

Overview

“An invaluable resource.”
—H.R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty, Battlegrounds, and At War with Ourselves

The essays in History’s Dead-Hand Grip, a collection assembled by historians Joseph Ledford and Daniel J. Sargent, 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—where 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 leading scholars to take May’s methods further, turning the lens beyond the United States toward Asia, the Middle East, and South America.

This broad focus ranges from Brazil’s middle-power ambitions to the shifting sands of Israeli and Saudi statecraft, and from the building of a leadership cult to 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 21st century
• Demonstrates the double-edged sword of historical reasoning’s power: it can be a vital compass for prudent policy or a trap that produces strategic error
• Offers practical insights for using the past with greater rigor, humility, and attention to context and contingency

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

Reviews

“An engaging demonstration of ways in which applying history can illuminate present predicaments and future probabilities—remembering the leading international historian of the past century.”
 —Graham Allison, Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
 

“History’s Dead-Hand Grip: Politics, Statecraft, and ‘Lessons’ of the Past is an invaluable resource for policymakers and students of history. Ledford and Sargent have distilled wisdom that, if heeded, 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

Author Biography

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.

Stephen Kotkin is the Kleinheinz Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and the author of Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929–1941 and Stalin: Paradoxes of Power, 1878–192