WHAT IS THE USE OF INTERNATIONAL HISTORY

The significance of history for the study of today's international rel ations has often been underestimated. The point of departure of this a rticle is that historical studies of international affairs, in order t o be relevant in a broader societal context, must relate to crucial is sues for the survival of our civilization. The basic idea is that hist orical knowledge should be able to contribute to the making of a bette r world, a more peaceful world without violence and war. An emancipato ry stance like this is essential if we are to show the urgency of stud ying international relations. In this respect, historical research has a great deal to learn from peace research. Having adopted a political stance in favour of peace, we can use history or historical methods i n at least six different ways to increase our understanding of today's international affairs: ascertaining facts per sc, focusing on the lon g lines of development, studying history as a cultural construction, l ooking for causes, explaining the establishment of historical phenomen a and developing theories. Using these approaches, historical science has the potential to illuminate aspects of today's international situa tion where other disciplines lack the necessary analytical tools. At t his critical juncture of world history, in particular in the aftermath of the Cold War, the first three approaches arc considered most relev ant. Finally, it is maintained that historians in the field of interna tional relations have to initiate a debate concerning central issues o r syntheses in world politics to point to the relevance of the histori cal dimension.