Geneviève Baraona Book order

Europe's political scene has changed a great deal after 1990. It was marked by the liberation of Eastern Europe from the erstwhile Soviet Empire, and the emergence of European Union. In a unipolar world, Europe would like to play a meaningful and fruitful role for bringing about peace and prosperity The European Union is fast emerging as an economic power house. It is supplementing the role of United Nations in its efforts to maintain the peace and stability in the world. The Lisbon Treaty which the 27 member of the EU have ratified, has assigned a far bigger role to the EU than mere economic integration The original purpose of founding the EU was to prevent wars and national rivalries through instrumentality of economic integration. Hence, a separate chapter included in this edition.

The importance of the study of the history of Asia needs no special emphasis, particularly with the emergence of Japan, China and India as major powers of this continent. This book is different from other books of this genre, as it connects the ancient and medieval with the modern. It deals with the account of each country in its geographical setting, highlighting those incidents in neighbouring countries which have had some impact upon it. The ancient and medieval periods cover topics like migration, early settlements, formation of kingdoms and empires, socio-economic matters, Islamic penetrations and the advent of Western powers. The modem period is treated in great detail, especially matters like colonisation, impact of Western civilisation, the rise of nationalism and the gaining of independence following the Second World War. Current history, which includes aspects like subversion of democracies, the ushering in of military rule, ethnic conflicts, movements for the restoration of democracy, oppression of minorities, economic issues and the possibility of nuclear war -- right up to the end of the millennium -- has been dealt with in a fascinating way, with maps and a bibliography to stimulate the reader's interest.