Abstract

On January 30, 2014, the Department of Political and Social Science of University of Bologna honored Professor Paolo Pombeni - founder and first director of «Ricerche di Storia Politica» - on the occasion of his retirement. We have the pleasure to publish his farewell lecture. The essay is an important contribution that discusses the current challenges of contemporary political history: its relationship with other social sciences as well as recent historiographical trends, such as global history. On the journal website (www.arsp.it) it is possible to read the introductive remarks of Professor Fulvio Cammarano to Professor Pombeni's farewell lecture.