Tara Zahra F’13, F’09 examines how nationalism, rather than internationalism, came to ensnare world politics in the early twentieth century in her new book Against the World: Anti-Globalism and Mass Politics Between the World Wars. She also connects these historical events and perspectives to modern debates on international trade, immigration, public health, and global inequality. From a January 25, 2023 New York Times review of the book by Jennifer Szalai:

Zahra conducted archival research in five languages, which is part of what makes “Against the World” so rich and surprising. She doesn’t rely on the syntheses of other scholars, examining instead how people understood events as they unfolded in real time. Her searching book reminds us that a view from 10,000 feet doesn’t always capture what’s actually happening on the ground. Jennifer Szalai, New York Times

Zahra is the Homer J. Livingston Professor of East European History and the College at the University of Chicago. She was awarded a 2013 ACLS Fellowship for the project “Exodus from the East: Emigration from Eastern Europe and the Making of the ‘Free World,’ 1889-1989,” and was a 2009 Charles A. Ryskamp Research Fellow.