International History Declassified

In this episode of International History Declassified, Pieter and Kian sit down with author Alan McPherson to discuss his book, Ghosts of Sheridan Circle, which tells the chilling story of the assassination of Chilean dissident, Orlando Letelier.

Dr. Sacha Zala, Director of Diplomatische Dokumente der Schweiz (Dodis), explains to Pieter and Kian the declassification and publication process of the Dodis series. He also gives a guided tour of the Dodis website and archives, explaining how to search their collection of Swiss diplomatic documents and showing off several great features for researchers.

During his extensive work on the Saudi peninsula, Toby Matthiesen has explored many different aspects of Post-War Saudi history, including the development of the Communist Party of Saudi Arabia. In this discussion with Kian and Pieter, Dr. Matthiesen explains the nuances of the CPSA’s belief systems, it’s role as a regional player in the Gulf, as well as Dr. Matthiesen’s own experiences conducting research on the region.

In this episode, Pieter and special guest-host Erin Scrimger (Archivist, History and Public Policy Program) speak with NATO Archives Public Disclosure Officer Nick Nguyen about the 70th anniversary of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe and what documents and materials are available in their archives that chronicle its founding.

Kian and Pieter are joined by Professor Dayo Gore of Georgetown University to discuss her work on African American women activists of the Cold War. Often overshadowed by their male colleagues and counterparts, these women have remarkable stories of their own and impacted the course of the African American leftist movements in ways not fully appreciated until only recently.

In this episode of International History Declassified, Kian and Pieter speak with historian Or Rabinowitz about Israeli nuclear history and what present-day and future nuclear negotiators can learn by reading the archival materials.

In this episode of International History Declassified, we speak with historian Sarah B. Snyder about how domestic social movements shifted the conversation about global human rights, what role the State Department played, and her experience with research on human rights with corporate archives.

After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, millions of pages of captured archival materials were taken to the US and made available to the public. But after just a few years, they were taken down and eventually returned to Iraq. Why does so much controversy surround these materials, and what issues face historians seeking to work with other captured archives? Rebecca Whiting joins Pieter and Kian for a discussion of the recently-returned Iraqi archives and their complicated history.

In this episode, Pieter and Kian speak with Michelle Paranzino of the US Naval War College about her experiences studying Latin American Cold War history in the Russian Archives.

Pieter and Kian talk with Harvard PhD candidate Ruodi Duan about the intersection of Chinese Cold War history with Africa and African-American social movements during the 1960s-1970s.

Kian and Pieter sit down with Bilkent University professor Onur Isci to talk about the Center for Russian Studies and his work in the Turkish Archives. While Turkey and Russia seem to be natural enemies, the documents show that has not always been the case.

In our latest episode, we explore the archives of the Dominican Republic and Latin American Cold War history with René Cordero of Brown University. René explains his work with the Dominican section of Opening the Archives project, and tells of a personal connection he discovered while conducting research in Santo Domingo.

In this episode of International History Declassified, Kian and Pieter speak with Dr. Mariana Budjeryn of Harvard University's Belfer Center. Dr. Budjeryn explains the significance of the Budapest Memorandum, which was signed 25 years ago on the heels of the collapse of the Soviet Union, and which made Ukraine one of the few countries to give up its nuclear arsenal. Dr. Budjeryn also provides fascinating insight into her experiences researching in Ukrainian archives and interviewing Soviet generals.

Co-hosts Pieter Biersteker and Kian Byrne sit down with Professor Sergey Radchenko to gain some insight into the Soviet view of the Korean War. Professor Radchenko outlines some interesting archives to explore and discusses the future of the field of international history.

Esteemed historian Samuel Wells joins co-hosts Pieter Biersteker and Kian Byrne to discuss the broader context of the Korean War and how US President Harry Truman made the decision to involve the US in the conflict.  According to Dr. Wells, much of our understanding of the Korean War today is due to the opening of the former Soviet archives in the early 1990s.

In the first episode of International History Declassified, co-hosts Pieter Biersteker and Kian Byrne speak with Dr. Charles Kraus of the History and Public Policy Program about the origins of the Korean War and the Chinese perspective. Dr. Kraus explains the role of Mao Zedong in the decision to invade South Korea, and how Chinese see the war today.