How a Cease-Fire Can Lead to Disaster The first Gulf War’s lessons for what to do—and not do—in Iran.

To avoid repeating the mistakes it made in Iraq in the 1990s, the United States “should offer Iran a path to diplomatic and economic normalization in exchange for compliance with a clear set of demands,” argue Daniel Chardell and @samuelhelfont.bsky.social.

I am happy to have written this piece of applied history with Daniel Chardell on what we can learn from the Gulf War ceasefire about today’s war with Iran. www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/how-cea...

Thanks, Michael!

paw.princeton.edu/new-books/ir...

Short but good write up in Princeton Alumni Weekly

"Helfont’s book offers a concise account of one of the most consequential and relevant geopolitical narratives of today."

Merci beaucoup!

Thank you, @h-diplo.bsky.social. Our hopes exactly: "This article is, so far as I know, the first to seriously consider the question of what normalization means, not just in the specific context of US–China relations, but also in US foreign policy
more broadly."🗃️ issforum.org/reviews/PDF/...

outright dismissing Fukuyama because "haha end of history" is quickly becoming a very useful filter for who has actually done the reading and who hasn't

this is really true. Lots to disagree with in End of History but it is a surprisingly weird and interesting book to have become a foreign policy bestseller.

THE LONG ARC OF THE IRAQ WARS Samuel Helfont joins host Ron Granieri to discuss his book, The Iraq Wars: A Very Short Introduction, which covers the Gulf War of 1991, the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and subsequent years of...

I had a great time speaking with @rjgranieri.bsky.social on the War Room podcast about The Iraq Wars: A Very Short Introduction. Listen here: warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/ira...

Review Samuel Helfont, The Iraq Wars, A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2025 Samuel Helfont released his third book on Iraq entitled The Iraq Wars, A Very Short Introduction . It is a brief review of...

Musings On #Iraq Review Samuel Helfont, The Iraq Wars, A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2025 musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2026/02/revi...

Review Samuel Helfont, The Iraq Wars, A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2025 Samuel Helfont released his third book on Iraq entitled The Iraq Wars, A Very Short Introduction . It is a brief review of...

Musings On #Iraq Review Samuel Helfont, The Iraq Wars, A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2025 musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2026/02/revi...

“The Iraq Wars is only about 150 pages of text and yet it packs a big punch. It adds a depth of analysis to the decades long conflict between the United States and Iraq making it a worthwhile read.” Thanks, Joel!

“The Iraq Wars is only about 150 pages of text and yet it packs a big punch. It adds a depth of analysis to the decades long conflict between the United States and Iraq making it a worthwhile read.” Thanks, Joel!

How did a Yemeni militia become one of Tehran's most powerful proxies? @osto.bsky.social and @thomasjuneau.bsky.social analyze the rise of the Houthis on the latest episode of The Iran Reckoning. (Members Only)

Listen here: warontherocks.com/ep...

Always great to see it out in the wild! #aha @academic.oup.com

Always great to see it out in the wild! #aha @academic.oup.com

Thanks!

This is my first deliberately academic read of 2026, and so far my thought is to tell students researching related topics that this is their essential orientation #Iraq

See everyone there!

I am looking forward to assigning @samuelhelfont.bsky.social's "The Iraq Wars" from @academic.oup.com in a class on the subject during the spring semester. I used a couple "A Very Short Introduction" books this fall & they worked well & were well received by students.

global.oup.com/academic/pro...

Thanks Michael!

I had a great time speaking with Miranda Melcher @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social about “The Iraq Wars: A Very Short Introduction.” @academic.oup.com

newbooksnetwork.com/the-iraq-wars

Did anyone else get an email about the Anthropic settlement?

Glad to see this!

Happy news: My new book -- Humanitarianism: A Very Short Introduction -- now has a cover and is available for preorder! The book is a concise history of humanitarianism in an international and global perspective, from the 18th century to the present. More info here: global.oup.com/academic/pro...

Lisa Blaydes et Samuel Helfont (eds.) - Ba‘thist Iraq Through Archives

Reflections, Explorations, and Opportunities

À paraître en juin aux Stanford UP

It’s being read by someone named Tom Campbell. If you click on his name, you can hear samples of the other books he has narrated. Sounds pretty good to me! www.audible.com/pd/The-Iraq-...

Ba‘thist Iraq Through Archives | Stanford University Press The opening of Iraq's Ba'th Party archives revolutionized the study of Iraqi politics and history, offering scholars unprecedented access to the inner workings of one of the world's most impenetrable ...

Very proud to have a chapter examining Kurdish and Iraqi attempts to claim human rights violations in the '90s in "Ba'thist Iraq Through Archives," coming June 2026 from @stanfordpress.bsky.social, edited by @samuelhelfont.bsky.social & @lisablaydes.bsky.social www.sup.org/books/histor...

Have you read it yet? Thoughts?