Table of Contents

List of Maps
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Prologue: A New Era in International Politics
1. The Second World War and its consequences
2. The beginning of the post-war world
The Cold War, 1945–1962
3. The antagonists
4. From Potsdam to the Marshall Plan, 1945–47
5. From the Prague Coup to the North Atlantic Treaty, 1948–49
6. From Korea to Hungary, 1949–1956
7. The Berlin and Cuba Crises, 1957–1962
Reflection: The Cold War in its early phases
Decolonization and Wars of Succession, 1945–1960s
8. The Middle East, 1945–c. 1962
9. Transformation in Asia, 1945–1962
10. The New Africa
11. The Bandung Conference, 1955 and Non-alignment
12. Latin America Contested, 1945–1973
Reflection: The ‘Third World’
The Cold War: Détente
13. The Cold War and Détente, 1963–1969
14. The high tide of détente, 1969-1975
15. The end of détente, 1976–1980
Reflection: The essence of détente
The Changing World Order, 1960s–1990s
16. The Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1963–1982
17. The Geopolitics of Oil, 1973-91
18. The Rise of Asia, c.1962-1990s
19. Turmoil in Africa, c.1962-1990s
20. Latin America in World Affairs, 1970s-1990s
Reflection: Where is Europe?
The Ending of the Cold War
21. Renewed Cold War, 1980–85
22. Gorbachev and Reagan, 1985–88
23. Three years that shook the world, 1989–91
Reflection: The Cold War in Retrospect
After the Cold War
24. Global Issues
25. Nationalism, Political Conflict, and War in Europe
26. The Wounded Hegemon
27. Democracy and Human Rights
Further reading
Index

Promotional Information

A comprehensive survey of international affairs from the end of the Second World War, through to the Cold War and up to the present day.

About the Author

P. M. H. Bell was formerly Reader in History at the University of Liverpool, UK.

Mark Gilbert is Professor of History and International Studies at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University, USA.

Reviews

The text is punctuated with pithy judgments about historical actors … Crisp writing of this sort retains the reader’s attention, whether undergraduates or old hands. The text’s broad geographic range also offers unexpected rewards. I, admittedly not an African specialist, was especially struck by the detailed coverage of the Western Sahara dispute between Mauritania and Morocco, as well as Libyan and French involvement in Chad’s civil wars.
*Journal of Modern History*

The literature on international history since 1945 has become so vast and elaborate during the past decades that we badly need a compact survey of the kind that Philip Bell and Mark Gilbert provide. This consistently reliable and highly readable book will help readers to understand the main events that shaped the world we live in today.
*Kiran Klaus Patel, Maastricht University, the Netherlands*

The authors of the second edition of The World since 1945 have done readers a great service. Out of the complicated history of our times, they have produced an impressively streamlined and accessible account. It is recommended for anyone wishing to understand more about the forces that produced today’s world.
*Mary Elise Sarotte, University of Southern California Dornsife, USA*

There could be no better person than Mark Gilbert to help revise and bring up to date Philip Bell’s classic account of post-1945 international history. The book’s elegance of style, thematic coherence and mastery of the issues are all maintained, making it an essential purchase for students and specialists alike.
*Christopher Hill, University of Cambridge, UK*