Focused on dramatic events and complex issues, this text traces, chronologically, the intertwined international, political, and economic aspects of contemporary world history from 1945 to the 1990s. It explores three dimensions of the major issues and events—how the emergence of nation-states have replaced colonial empires; the global impact of the Cold War and the role of ideology in political history; and the development of economic ties within a global market economy. Students understand the key changes in the interaction among peoples by learning where and how powerful new historical forces have emerged.