Book Launch 'The Paris Commune: A Global History' (Verso Books, 2026)
with author Quentin Deluermoz (British Academy Global Professor, University of Cambridge)
We are pleased to welcome Quentin Deluermoz, British Academy Global Professor at the University of Cambridge, who will present his recent book The Paris Commune: A Global History (Verso Books, 2026).
The Paris Commune as world revolutionary event and laboratory for republican and socialist ideas
In 1871 and over the years to follow, the impact of the Paris Commune was felt the world over. Concepts and practices developed there were taken up in all corners of Europe and travelled as far afield as Mexico City and Algiers. Drawing on history, anthropology, and the sociology of crises and revolutions, Quentin Deluermoz follows the revolution from its origins on the Parisian street, capturing the perspective of ordinary men and women, to examine the delicate question of its legacy.
In recent decades, the Commune has been a touchstone for social and political struggles in France, the United States, Spain, Mexico, and the Syrian Kurdish region of Rojava. This resurgence is rooted in twentieth-century anarchist and communist history. It hearkens back to often forgotten meanings of socialism, federalism, and republicanism. Deluermoz recaptures the intensity of the ‘Commune moment’, helping readers grasp its enduring relevance for today.
Quentin Deluermoz is Professor of contemporary History at University Paris Cité (France). He is the author and editor of more than 15 books, translated in Spanish and English, including (with P. Singaravelou), A Past of Possibilities: a History of what it could have been, Yale UP, 2021; Le Crépuscule des révolutions, 1848-1871 (Seuil, 2014); Histoires globales des révolutions (with L. Bantigny, L. Jeanpierre, B. Gobille, E. Palieraki, La Découverte, 2023), With other colleagues he also created the interdisciplinary and artistic review Sensibilités, Histoire, Sciences Sociale et critique.
