Gary Love
+4773598307
Bygg 5, 5570, Dragvoll
About
I work on the political history of Britain and its relations with Europe and the rest of the world in the twentieth century. Within these areas, I have a special interest in the history of British political ideologies and traditions, particularly in relation to centre-right politics. But I am also very interested in the history of different genres of political writing and cultures of publishing in modern Britain, and the roles of women in British political history.
In recent years, my research has attracted external research funding from both The Research Council of Norway and the Arts and Humanities Research Council in the UK. As part of these projects, I recently co-edited two books entitled Conservatism, Christian Democracy, and the Dynamics of Transformation: Traditions, Cooperation and Influence in North-West Europe, 1945-91 (Manchester University Press, 2025) and Writing Politics in Modern Britain: Genre and Cultures of Publishing in Britain since 1900 (Cambridge University Press, 2026).
I see myself first and foremost as a historian working in the field of modern British history and I continue to maintain strong links with scholars working in this area both in the UK and the USA. Since I came to NTNU I have spent two periods as a Visiting By-Fellow at Churchill College, Cambridge (2014 and 2017-18) and another as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin (2018). In 2021 I was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in the UK.
Research
Research Interests
- Conservative Party politics and political thought (late 19th century to the present).
- Genres of Political Writing and Cultures of Publishing in Britain since 1900.
- Britain's Relationship with Scandinavia and Europe.
- Thatcherism and British Society in the 1980s.
- Women in British Politics
- Vernacular languages of politics
Externally Funded Research Projects
- Principal Investigator and project leader of a comparative and transnational history project that explores the history of British and Scandinavian Conservative Parties from the 1930s to the 1980s. The project is funded by The Research Council of Norway (FRIPRO 'Young Research Talents' scheme) for 2017-23.
- Co-investigator with Professor Richard Toye (University of Exeter) on the project 'Genres of Political Writing in Britain since 1900', which is funded by an Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK) Networking Grant for 2020-22.
Links to research groups and projects can be accessed below:
Conservatism at the Crossroads
The project aims to show that there were real connections between the British and Scandinavian Conservative parties and that they made important contributions to the development of various forms of centre-right internationalism in the twentieth century.
Genres of Political Writing in Britain since 1900
This research project offers a new perspective on British politics since 1900 by examining the issue of political writing and publication in a systematic, interdisciplinary fashion.
Publications
Writing Politics in Modern Britain: Genre and Cultures of Publishing since 1900 (Cambridge University Press, 2026)
This innovative study explores the diverse world of modern British political writing, examining its evolving genres and their pivotal role in shaping political identities, ideologies, and movements.
Conservatism, Christian Democracy and the dynamics of transformation Traditions, cooperation and influence in North-West Europe, 1945-91 (Manchester University Press, 2025)
Conservatism, Christian Democracy, and the Dynamics of Transformation explores the traditions, cooperation, and influence of centre-right politics in northern and western Europe across the second half of the twentieth century.
2026
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Love, Gary John.
(2026)
The Rise and Fall of the ‘Octopus Plan: Conservative Political Writing and Publishing from the 1940s to the 1970s.
Academic chapter
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Love, Gary John;
Toye, Richard.
(2026)
‘Introduction’, in Gary Love and Richard Toye (eds.), Writing Politics in Modern Britain: Genre and Cultures of Publishing Since 1900 (Cambridge University Press, 2026), pp. 1-20.
Introduction in anthology
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Love, Gary John;
Toye, Richard.
(2026)
Writing Politics in Modern Britain: Genre and Cultures of Publishing since 1900.
Cambridge University Press
Anthology
2025
-
Love, Gary John.
(2025)
'"The struggle is international" : Conservatives, Christian Democrats, and the International Democrat Union, 1978-90'.
Academic chapter
-
Love, Gary John;
Skov, Christian Egander.
(2025)
Introduction to Conservatism, Christian Democracy and the dynamics of transformation.
Academic chapter
-
Love, Gary John;
Skov, Christian Egander.
(2025)
Conservatism, Christian Democracy and the dynamics of transformation.
Manchester University Press
Anthology
2023
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Love, Gary John.
(2023)
The British Conservative Party, the Scandinavian Conservative Parties, and Inter-Party Cooperation in Europe, 1949-78.
Contemporary British History
Academic article
2020
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Love, Gary.
(2020)
'Making a ‘New Conservatism’: The Tory Reform Committee and Design for Freedom, 1942–1949'.
English Historical Review
Academic article
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Love, Gary.
(2020)
‘Real Toryism’ or Christian democracy? The political thought of Douglas Jerrold and Charles Petrie at the New English Review, 1945–50.
Historical Research
Academic article
2018
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Love, Gary.
(2018)
A ‘Mixture of Britannia and Boadicea’: Dorothy Crisp’s Conservatism and the Limits of Right-Wing Women’s Political Activism, 1927–48.
Twentieth Century British History
Academic article
2014
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Love, Gary.
(2014)
The Periodical Press and the Intellectual Culture of Conservatism in Interwar Britain.
The Historical Journal
Academic article
2012
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Love, Gary.
(2012)
'Whig Lessons, Conservative Answers: The Literary Adventures of Sir J.A.R. Marriott', in Laura Beers and Geraint Thomas (eds.) Brave New World: Imperial and Democratic Nation-Building in Britain between the Wars (University of London, 2011), pp. 67-90.
Academic chapter
2010
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Love, Gary.
(2010)
Conservatives, National Politics, and the Challenge to Democracy in Britain, 1931-37 / degree conferred on 23 July 2011.
University of Cambridge
Doctoral thesis
2009
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Love, Gary.
(2009)
'The British Movement, Duncan Sandys, and the Politics of Constitutionalism in the 1930s'.
Contemporary British History
Academic article
2007
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Love, Gary.
(2007)
'"What's the Big Idea?": Oswald Mosley, the British Union of Fascists and Generic Fascism'.
Journal of Contemporary History
Academic article
Journal publications
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Love, Gary.
(2009)
'The British Movement, Duncan Sandys, and the Politics of Constitutionalism in the 1930s'.
Contemporary British History
Academic article
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Love, Gary.
(2007)
'"What's the Big Idea?": Oswald Mosley, the British Union of Fascists and Generic Fascism'.
Journal of Contemporary History
Academic article
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Love, Gary John.
(2023)
The British Conservative Party, the Scandinavian Conservative Parties, and Inter-Party Cooperation in Europe, 1949-78.
Contemporary British History
Academic article
-
Love, Gary.
(2014)
The Periodical Press and the Intellectual Culture of Conservatism in Interwar Britain.
The Historical Journal
Academic article
-
Love, Gary.
(2020)
'Making a ‘New Conservatism’: The Tory Reform Committee and Design for Freedom, 1942–1949'.
English Historical Review
Academic article
-
Love, Gary.
(2020)
‘Real Toryism’ or Christian democracy? The political thought of Douglas Jerrold and Charles Petrie at the New English Review, 1945–50.
Historical Research
Academic article
-
Love, Gary.
(2018)
A ‘Mixture of Britannia and Boadicea’: Dorothy Crisp’s Conservatism and the Limits of Right-Wing Women’s Political Activism, 1927–48.
Twentieth Century British History
Academic article
Books
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Love, Gary John;
Toye, Richard.
(2026)
Writing Politics in Modern Britain: Genre and Cultures of Publishing since 1900.
Cambridge University Press
Anthology
-
Love, Gary John;
Skov, Christian Egander.
(2025)
Conservatism, Christian Democracy and the dynamics of transformation.
Manchester University Press
Anthology
Part of book/report
-
Love, Gary John.
(2026)
The Rise and Fall of the ‘Octopus Plan: Conservative Political Writing and Publishing from the 1940s to the 1970s.
Academic chapter
-
Love, Gary John;
Toye, Richard.
(2026)
‘Introduction’, in Gary Love and Richard Toye (eds.), Writing Politics in Modern Britain: Genre and Cultures of Publishing Since 1900 (Cambridge University Press, 2026), pp. 1-20.
Introduction in anthology
-
Love, Gary John.
(2025)
'"The struggle is international" : Conservatives, Christian Democrats, and the International Democrat Union, 1978-90'.
Academic chapter
-
Love, Gary John;
Skov, Christian Egander.
(2025)
Introduction to Conservatism, Christian Democracy and the dynamics of transformation.
Academic chapter
-
Love, Gary.
(2012)
'Whig Lessons, Conservative Answers: The Literary Adventures of Sir J.A.R. Marriott', in Laura Beers and Geraint Thomas (eds.) Brave New World: Imperial and Democratic Nation-Building in Britain between the Wars (University of London, 2011), pp. 67-90.
Academic chapter
Student thesis or dissertation
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Love, Gary.
(2010)
Conservatives, National Politics, and the Challenge to Democracy in Britain, 1931-37 / degree conferred on 23 July 2011.
University of Cambridge
Doctoral thesis
Teaching
I co-teach the course ENG1404 History annd Nation as 'The Making of Modern Britain'.
I also teach ENG3450 History, Society, and Culture as 'New Times? Britain in the 1980s'.
Supervision
I am interested in hearing from prospective PhD applicants in areas of twentieth century British political history and/ or transnational history.
I am currently the second supervisor of a PhD candidate at NTNU:
- Elisabeth Stennes Skaar, 'The Great Balancing Act: Britain, South Africa and the Namibia Question, 1974-1990' (Primary Supervisor: Michael J. Geary).
I supervise MA theses in most areas of twentieth century British history and culture.
I have always taught British history more broadly than my research profile would suggest and in most cases students are welcome to pursue the historical approaches and perspectives that interest them the most. I have supervised Master’s theses on a range of interesting topics in these areas at NTNU:
- New Labour, Education and Class
- From Thatcher to Truss: ideological Inheritence or Rhetorical Illusion?
- Modernizer or Manipulator? The Construction of Meghan Markle's Public Image through the Genre of Popular Biography
- The British Nationality Act of 1981 and its Impact on british National Identity in 1980s Britain
- Harold Wilson, "The Special Relationship", and the "Vienam Question", 1964-1969A Vital Outlet for the British left: Marxism Today as a discursive space, 1979-1983
- The Thatcher Governments and the Revolutions of 1989 in Germany and Eastern Europe
- The Reputations of Margaret Thatcher and John Major in relation to ‘Black Wednesday’ and the European Exchange Rate Mechanism
- The Miners’ Strike of 1984-85 and ‘Community’ in North-East England.
- Comparative history of the Conservative policies of the Thatcher and Willoch governments in Britain and Norway
- Hooligan Problem: British state responses to Football-related violence in the 1970s
- British foreign policy and the politics of intervention in Norway, 1939-40
- Britain’s renewal of the nuclear deterrent, 1976-81
- Anglo-Dutch relations in the Second World War
- Margaret Thatcher's relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev
- Britain, the USA, and the special relationship during the Grenada crisis, 1983-84
- Birth control and eugenics in interwar Britain.
- Britain, the USA, and the world oil crisis, 1973-74
- The rise and fall of ‘cool Britannia’ in the 1990s
- The Labour party’s economic policy, 1979-83.
- John Major and the Maastricht Rebels
- The 2012 Olympic Games in London and British national identity.
- The Political ideas and Language of the English Defence League
- Christianity and the public sphere in twentieth century Britain
Outreach
2026
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Blog post
2025
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Other presentationLove, Gary John. (2025) Researching Conservatism and Christian Democracy in Northwest Europe, 1945-91. Research Conservatism and Christian Democracy in Northwest Europe, 1945-91
2023
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Conference lectureLove, Gary John. (2023) 'The Struggle is international': towards International Democratic Union, 1978-90'. Department of Historical and Classical Studies Research Seminar
2022
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InterviewHammer, Mathias Gjesdal; Love, Gary. (2022) 'Etter bare seks uker som Storbritannias statsminister er Liz Truss i hardt vær: RISIKERER Å MÅTTE GÅ', Klassekampen.
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Interview
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InterviewHaug, Kenneth Kandolf; Love, Gary. (2022) '70-tallets strømkrise: Da kullmangel slukket lyset og brakte Storbritannia i kne', Adresseavisen.
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Interview
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Interview
2021
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Feature article
2019
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Interview
2018
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Interview
2017
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Interview
2016
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Interview
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Interview
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Contribution to radio or TV
2015
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Contribution to radio or TV
2013
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Interview
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Contribution to radio or TV
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Interview
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Interview
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Interview
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Interview
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Interview
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Interview
2011
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Interview