Applied History Project

The mission of Harvard’s Applied History Project is to revitalize applied history by promoting the production and use of historical reasoning to clarify public and private challenges and choices. Founded by Professors Graham Allison and Niall Ferguson in 2016, the Applied History Project builds upon the foundation laid by Professors Ernest May and Richard Neustadt in the 1980s, reflected in their book Thinking in Time: The Uses of History for Decision Makers. 

Advancing its mission, the Project sponsors the Applied History Working Group of faculty members across Harvard University to organize discussions with scholars and practitioners; supports historians and policymakers in producing Applied History; develops courses in Applied History; funds the Ernest May Fellowships in History and Policy for pre- and post-doctoral students; and holds Applied History Events open to the Harvard Community and the public. Harvard’s project is one of the leaders among a rapidly expanding network of universities and think tanks that are furthering the discipline of Applied History by clarifying predicaments and choices to inform better decisions.

The Project gratefully acknowledges the Stanton Foundation's generous support for its Applied History endeavors. 

Quote of the Week 

“Here we are on top of the world. We have arrived at this peak to stay there forever. There is, of course, this thing called history. But history is something unpleasant that happens to other people.” – Arnold Toynbee, recalling the 1897 diamond jubilee celebration of Queen Victoria

(More Quotes ») 

Article of the Week 

“How steep is Trump’s democratic backsliding?” – John Burn-Murdoch, Financial Times, January 31, 2026.

Compiling a dataset of 139 instances of “democratic backsliding” according to metrics of judicial independence, use of state force, and political prosecution, Burn-Murdoch argues that violations during Trump’s second term have occurred faster and more frequently than in other notable cases, such as Erdogan’s Turkey or Orban’s Hungary. But Burn-Murdoch notes that, unlike in other cases, most of Trump’s actions have relied on showy executive authorities rather than more durable changes to legislation. The midterm elections, too, give US voters a chance to voice dissatisfaction that citizens in autocracies do not have.