Zeitschrift für Weltgeschichte

The Zeitschrift für Weltgeschichte – interdisziplinäre Perspektiven (ZWG) is a German-language academic journal dedicated to global and universal history. It was founded in 2000 by the historian Hans-Heinrich Nolte on behalf of the Verein für Geschichte des Weltsystems e. V. (VGWS), the association for the history of the world system, which has long served as its institutional home and managing body. The journal presents itself as a forum for a comprehensive, interdisciplinary examination of historical, social and cultural studies, explicitly inviting cooperation with area studies and contributions from neighbouring disciplines, and addressing both specialists and a broader interested public. The ZWG appears twice a year, each issue running to roughly 150 pages, and is published by the academic house Peter Lang. Individual issues are priced at 30 euros and can be ordered directly from the publisher. Each issue typically contains several essays and longer articles covering different epochs and aspects of universal and world history, reflecting the current state of research and scholarly debate. A substantial review section discusses relevant literature in depth, and the journal regularly reports on pertinent conferences and provides bibliographic notes on the international literature of world history. Some issues also include global-history contributions translated from foreign-language debates for German-speaking readers. Since 2018 the global historian Jürgen G. Nagel has held the managing editorship, succeeding the founding editor Hans-Heinrich Nolte. The editorial board is international, with members based in Warsaw, Berlin, Vienna, Hanover, Mexico City, Linz, Hagen, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Istanbul, among other places. The current editorial team includes Jens Binner, Michael Bertram, Christian Lekon, Harald Kleinschmidt and Helmut Prantner. The journal is a non-commercial scholarly undertaking rather than a commercial consumer brand: it is owned and overseen by the VGWS association and distributed through Peter Lang, with its editorial office organised around the association's German base. Its readership consists primarily of historians, social scientists and students working on global, world-system and comparative history in the German-speaking academic sphere.

The Zeitschrift für Weltgeschichte – interdisziplinäre Perspektiven (ZWG) was founded in 2000 by the historian Hans-Heinrich Nolte on behalf of the Verein für Geschichte des Weltsystems e. V. (VGWS), the association for the history of the world system. Nolte also served for many years as the journal's managing editor on behalf of the association, shaping its early profile as a German-language venue for global and universal history. From its first volume the journal appeared twice yearly with the academic publisher Peter Lang, establishing a regular rhythm of essays, longer articles, reviews and conference reports. Over the following two decades the ZWG built an international editorial board. Among those associated with the journal are Dariusz Adamczyk, Manuela Boatcă, Christian Cwik, Beate Eschment, Claus Füllberg-Stolberg, Bernd Hausberger, Peter Kehne, Andrea Komlosy, Ralf Roth, Helmut Stubbe da Luz and Asli Vatansever, alongside Nolte and Nagel. The editorial team has likewise drawn on scholars in several countries, including Jens Binner, Michael Bertram, Christian Lekon, Harald Kleinschmidt and Helmut Prantner. In 2018 the global historian Jürgen G. Nagel took over the managing editorship from Nolte, continuing the journal's orientation toward interdisciplinary global history while maintaining its association with the VGWS. The journal has continued to publish two issues per year, each of roughly 150 pages, at a cover price of 30 euros per issue, orderable from Peter Lang. Its content combines research articles on different epochs and aspects of universal and world history, an extensive review section, regular conference coverage and bibliographic notes on international world-history literature, with occasional translations of foreign-language global-history contributions for German-speaking readers. By its twenty-fifth volume in 2026 the journal remained an active scholarly publication, with themed issues such as 'Missionare machen Politik' (Missionaries Make Politics).

• 2026

  Volume 25, Issue 1 published, with a thematic focus on 'Missionare machen Politik' and an obituary for Christian Lekon (1966–2025).

• 2018

  Jürgen G. Nagel takes over the managing editorship from Hans-Heinrich Nolte.

• 2000

  Zeitschrift für Weltgeschichte founded by Hans-Heinrich Nolte for the Verein für Geschichte des Weltsystems e. V. (VGWS); begins publication twice yearly with Peter Lang.

A German-language, non-commercial scholarly forum for interdisciplinary global and universal history, published for an academic association and aimed at both specialists and an interested public.

• Zeitschrift für Weltgeschichte (ZWG) journal

  German-language academic journal published twice yearly by Peter Lang, roughly 150 pages per issue, 30 euros per issue.

• Themed issues

  Issues organised around a specific theme, such as 'Missionare machen Politik' (Missionaries Make Politics).

• Review section

  An extensive section discussing relevant literature in depth.

1. 1ZWG – Zeitschrift für Weltgeschichte (VGWS official page)vgws.org
2. 2Zeitschrift für Weltgeschichte – Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Zeitschrift für Weltgeschichte – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org