Professor Dr. David Priestland

Biography

David Priestland is a distinguished scholar in the field of Modern History at the University of Oxford. He specializes in global ideologies of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, with particular emphasis on communism and market liberalism, often referred to as 'neoliberalism'. His early research concentrated on the Soviet Union, specifically focusing on the relationship between ideology, politics, and political culture during the interwar era, including the origins of Stalinist repressions in the late 1930s. His significant works include the publication 'Stalinism: Politics, Mobilization, Ideas, Power, Terror in Interwar Russia' which addresses these themes through a detailed examination of political and ideological factors. Priestland's broader comparative historical analysis has produced the book 'Red Flag: Communism and the Making of the Modern World', which was shortlisted for the Longman/History Prize in 2010. He is currently engaged in researching the history of market liberalism since the 1970s and the interaction between these ideas and the communist world, further exploring how cultural histories and sociological perspectives intersect within these narratives.

Research Interests