An examination of the Cold War from the creation and structure of the postwar settlement to the eventual coming apart of the post war order in the 1980s and early 1990s.

James Cronin explores the creation and structure of the postwar settlement and the eventual coming apart of the postwar order in the 1980s and early 1990s. Cronin argues that the current state of the world must be understood against the backdrop of the postwar order that until recently governed, prevented or distorted political and economic change.