Men like Hitler and Stalin and their immediate lieutenants cannot plead in defence of their actions that these were justified by the accepted values of that time.

It was essentially for self defence that we went to war in Afghanistan and would go to war in Iraq.

There are thus great swathes of the past where understanding is more important and reputable than judgement, because the principal actors performed in line with the ideas and values of that time, not of ours.

But it cannot follow that because weapons and troops are now being deployed we are bound to go to war.

Margaret Thatcher was fearful of German unification because she believed that this would bring an immediate and formidable increase of economic strength to a Germany which was already the strongest economic partner in Europe.

People are very interested in politics, they just don't like it labelled politics.