Preface: How has the ninth edition been updated? In this updated edition, certain chapters have in added in light of the attacks of September 11, 2001. There was a chapter added on the foreign policies of Clinton and Yelstin-Putin also, an introduction to the beginnings of George W. Bush's...

With all of the changes going on within America, and the prosperity and production that came with the industrial revolution, the temptation to stray from the foreign policy that Washington set out a hundred years before was very great. The Americans now entered a time where they were in a position...

In his introduction to The Lexus and the Olive Tree, published in 1999, Thomas Freidman states that "[t]he world is 10 years old. It was born when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. The Cold War system was replaced by a new, very greased, interconnected system called globalization." As a...

During World War II, many countries of the world came together to fight against the oppressive nations of Germany, Italy, Japan, and their allies. The United States, Russia, and Great Britain, who emerged as leaders of the fight against these adversaries, formed an alliance that was eventually able...

It has been a 'splendid little war' wrote John Hay to Theodore Roosevelt after the fall of Santiago. Little, the Spanish-American War was; it was over in barely four months. Splendid? Maybe for those at home, reading the headline about its lucky victories. But for those men who fo...

THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EUROPE AFTER WORLD WAR II Even while World War II war still being fought, leaders of the Allied powers began thinking about how to reconstruct Europe after the war. Winston Churchill of Britain, Franklin Roosevelt of the United States, and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union a...

Western Civilization Final Exam Tuesday, June 23, 1998 Question: What were the causes of the World War II? Do you believe that the war could have been prevented? Why or Why not? After the fall of the Weimar government, and the rise to power of the National Socialists headed by Adolp...

Western Civilization Final Exam Tuesday, June 23, 1998 Question: What were the causes of the World War II? Do you believe that the war could have been prevented? Why or Why not? After the fall of the Weimar government, and the rise to power of the National Socialists headed by Adolph Hitler, Germany...

In 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed as a nation state. Although, in retrospect, this seemed the likely outcome after years of economic stagnation, political corruption, and most importantly, the collapse of all pro-Soviet communist regimes in Eastern Europe by 1989, no one expected it (Pa...

The overlapping crises in Hungary and Poland in the autumn of 1956 posed a severe challenge for the leaders of the Soviet Communist Party (CPSU). After a tense standoff with Poland, the CPSU Presidium (as the Politburo was then called) decided to refrain from military intervention and to s...

Introduction Geopolitics is the applied study of the relationships of geographical space to politics. Geopolitics, therefore, concerned with the reciprocal impact of spatial patterns, features, and structures and political ideas, institutions, and transactions. The term 'Geopolitics' has origi...

An ancient Roman expression states, "Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum"; "Therefore whoever wishes for peace, let him prepare for war". Throughout much of the twentieth century, nations have attempted to resolve conflicts and ensure peace. The most preeminent conflicts...

Few nations in Asia have remained truly independent in the past several millenia. Even the powerful nations of China and India have been under foreign occupation for long periods of time. The people of Afghanistan, on the other hand, have been around to witness the great conquerors over many centu...

In February 1945, Nazi armies were quickly beaten back towards Berlin by armies of the Soviet Union. British and American forces were preparing to invade Germany. Unconditional surrender could be expected from Germany in a matter of weeks. Also, in the Pacific War, American forces moved steadily ...

The Cold War was the term used to describe the intense rivalry that developed after World War II between groups of Communist and non Communist nations. It was called the cold war because it did not really result in fighting. According to the article on the cold war in the World Book 200...

Cuban Missile Crisis John F. Kennedy's greatest triumph as President of the United States came in 1962, as the world's two largest superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States, edged closer and closer to nuclear war. The Soviet premier of Russia was caught arming Fidel Castro with nu...

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has been a silent partner on the world stage for more than half of the century and the most successful political-military alliance in history. The United Nations and their peacekeeping efforts have had the spotlight for the past few years. However the driving...

The historical impact of Operation Barbarosa cannot be denied. The Soviet victory over the Nazi German invaders set up the Soviets as a world superpower and set the stage for the Cold War. Had the Germans not attacked, the Russians may not have gained their dominance in Eastern Europe, and the W...

Many agree that the Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war; but exactly how close did it come? The Crisis was ultimately a showdown between the United States and the Soviet Union from October 16 to October 28, 1962. During those thirteen stressful days, the world&a...

Many agree that the Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war; but exactly how close did it come? The Crisis was ultimately a showdown between the United States and the Soviet Union from October 16 to October 28, 1962. During those thirteen stressful days, the world'...

The Soviet totalitarian regime held the many nations of the USSR together for almost three quarters of a century; the disintegration of this political system brought with it economic and political instability as well as civil wars in the separated states. Why did the collapse of the communist regim...

Exploring the importance of the Revolutions of 1917 in bringing about the rise of a single-party state in Russia. "No real social change has ever been brought about without a revolution.... Revolution is but thought carried into action (Emma Goldman, Anarchism 1917)." The people of Russ...

COLD WAR When World War II in Europe finally came to an end on May 7, 1945, a new war was just beginning. The Cold War: denoting the open yet restricted rivalry that developed between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, a war fought on political, economic, and propag...

The Cold War was an extremely long war that last from 1945 until 1990. It did not clearly start until 1945, but strained relations remained between the United States and the Soviet Union since 1917. The ending of WWII and the struggle between Communism and Capitalism, led to this unique war. This...

The victorious forces at the end of the war divided Germany into four zones. They also divided Berlin into four zones. Each of the victorious nations controlled one zone and one sector of Berlin. The Allies (Britain, America and France) ran their zones differently to the areas controlled by Russia...