A Concise History of the World Since 1945

W.M. SPELLMAN is Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, Asheville, USA. His publications include The Global Community: Migration and the Making of the Modern World, 1500-2000 (2002) and the co-authored volume The West: Culture and Ideas (2003).

Acknowledgements.- Introduction: Dynamic Tensions in Recent Global History.- PART I: FROM BI-POLAR TO MULTI-POLAR WORLD.- The Cold War in Global Context, 1945-1991.- The End of Empire and the Problem of Neo-Colonialism.- An Elusive New World Order, 1991-2004.- PART II: GLOBALIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS.- When Borders Don't Matter: Development and Global Culture.- When Borders Do Matter: International Migration and Identity.- PART III: BODY AND SPIRIT.- Science, Technology and the Environment.- Religions and Civil Society.- Conclusion: Hope and Misgiving in the New Century.- Further Reading.- Index.