A century after the British colonial empire reached the height of its power and fifty years after its disintegration began, a number of histories, surveys and judgements has been appearing from a variety of authors, in the shape of articles, books and multi-volume series.

Socialist History 13, now published in its new format, joins this discussion, and focuses not only upon imperialism but also on the counter-currents of nationalism and internationalism. Victor Kiernan provides a concise analysis both of the trajectory of world imperialism since the nineteenth century and the principal interpretations it has generated. Ralph Russell unravels the complexities of the Indian independence movement and the processes of decolonisation in the subcontinent. Anna Davin examines the social and cultural impact of immigration upon Britain and Bill McCaig brings to life the experiences of an illegal immigrant in South Africa working for the liberation movement. David Morgan reports on the response to national oppression in Kurdistan.

These main articles are reinforced by a number of reviews relating to the central themes of the issue while the journal also includes reviews of texts on other aspects of labour and socialist history.