Includes index. McWilliams, W. C. & Piotrowski, H. (2001). The world since 1945: a history of international relations (5th ed.). Boulder, Co. : Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Introduction -- Part 1: The origins of the cold war -- The end of world war II and the dawn of the nuclear age -- The cold was institutionalized -- The cold war in Asia: a change of venue -- Confrontation and coexistence -- Part 2: Nationalism and the end of colonialism -- Decolonization in Asia -- Decolonization in Africa -- The Middle East: the Arab-Israeli conflict -- Part 3: The shifting sands of global power -- The communist world after Stalin -- The war in Indochina -- Detente and the end of bipolarity -- Part 4: The third world -- Problems of economic development in the third world -- Africa -- Latin America -- The People's Republic of China and Taiwan -- The Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia -- Part 5: Transition to a new era -- Political Islam and the Middle East -- Japan, Korea, and East Asian economic development -- The globalization of the economy -- Gorbachev's Perestroika and its consequences -- The soviet union's retreat from empire -- The nuclear arm race and nuclear disarmament -- Epilogue: the end of the postwar age

The fifth edition of this textbook continues to provide the background to assist students in understanding current international relations. This study traces the major political, economic and idealogical patterns that have evolved in the global arena from the end of World War II to the end of the 20th century.