ABSTRACT

Historical revisionism can be both dangerous and liberating. To rethink and recalibrate the meanings of the past, imputed by chroniclers of current events, is to deny the viewpoint of the witness. This is not a process to be taken lightly. And yet, without the benefit of temporal distance, cross-cultural comparison and political, social and economic context to better understand the motives and tactics of men and empires, history remains impoverished and the lessons to be drawn today remain oblique, if not plain wrong. It is only in the recognition and analysis of ongoing trends and human responses over time, what Braudel called “la longue durée”, that history comes into focus, and can provide insight for both policymakers and academics. Thus, history is constantly in the making, an ongoing process of interpretation that begins as events unfold but then continues from then on.