Crisis-fighting is both relentless and hectic. It is driven by the urgency of the immediate situation. It is caught in a tangled web of interests and must make up its instruments as it goes along. It is also, however, guided by reflection on past crisis-fighting. Whether in the form of books, articles, or “folk narratives,” contemporary history is part of that process of collective learning. History-writing is part and parcel of history-making.
Q
