International Relations Since 1945

International Relations since 1945 is the most student-friendly guide to the history of international relations. In it, Young and Kent provide an accessible and comprehensive introduction to key developments in international relations across the world. Now in its third edition, the text has been thoroughly updated to include contemporary developments and includes a brand new concluding part: ’The Age of Uncertainty, 2011 - 2018’.

New to the third edition are three chapters covering developments from the last decade. The first of these, ’Conflict and Chaos in the Middle East’, describes the development of the War in Syria and the emergence of the so-called Islamic State. Young & Kent tackle Brexit and the Trump administration in a new chapter on ’Threats to the existing Global Order: Instability in the West’. The final new chapter details ’Challenges from the East’ with an overview of Russia’s unstable relationship with NATO, North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, and China’s new international economic rules under the leadership of Xi Jinping.

International Relations Since 1945 is helpfully structured chronologically and by region, taking the reader through the tension of the Cold War and post-war decolonisation to the Vietnam War, The Detente Era, and the latest developments in Middle East politics. Furthermore, students are supported by helpful learning features including biographies of key figures and chronologies of events.

John W. Young, Professor of International History, The University of Nottingham, UK, John Kent, Emeritus Professor, London School of Economics & Political Science

Professor John W. Young is an expert on post-1945 history of British and US foreign policy (including British relations with European Union), based at the University of Nottingham, UK. Dr John Kent has taught at the Universities of Aberdeen and Strathclyde and is currently an Emeritus Professor at the London School of Economics.