The Cold War in the Third World by Robert J. McMahon, PhD (Ralph D. Mershon Distinguished Professor of History, Ralph D. Mershon Distinguished Professor of History, Ohio State University)
THE COLD WAR IN THE THIRD WORLD explores the complex interrelationships between the Soviet-American struggle for global preeminence and the rise of the Third World. Those two distinct but overlapping phenomena placed a powerful stamp on world history throughout the second half of the twentieth century. Featuring original essays by twelve leading scholars, this collection examines the influence of the newly emerging states of the Third World on the course of the Cold War and on the international behavior and priorities of the two superpowers. To what extent, it asks, did the Third World help determine the course of the Cold War? It also analyzes the impact of the Cold War on the developing states and societies of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. To what extent, it asks, did the Cold War make a difference within non-Western nations and regions. Blending the new, internationalist approaches to the Cold War with the latest research on the global south in a tumultuous era of decolonization and state-building, The Cold War in the Third World bring together diverse strands of scholarship to address some of the most compelling issues in modern world history.