ABSTRACT
Coal mining histories have had different characters in different countries and continents. These differences were due to different roles of the state, varying strengths of employers and trade unions, different geological and market conditions as well as markedly different political cultures. There were also often similarities in state policies, industrial relations and responses to changing market conditions. In the second half of the twentieth century and early twenty-first century, there was convergence between newer industrialised countries and older ones, with the newer ones often beginning to catch up older ones in industrial decline.
