Themes in modern European history since 1945

Book abstract:

This work deals with history by a study of the undercurrents that changed the nature of society rather than the simple chronological list of major events. It looks at the history of Europe as it developed over decades, and explores the structural changes and longer-range trends that have taken place in Europe and the reasons why. It deals with the reconstruction of Europe in the second half of the twentieth century, so necessary after the destruction of Europe that took place in the first half of that century.

The book is organised over ten chapters. The first chapter deals with the impact of the Cold War and the great divide of East and West. Chapter two examines the decolonisation process that followed the defeats of the former colonising powers in the Second World War, and discussion moves to the rebirth of many of those nations into urban, fully industrialised, consumer societies in chapter three. The social upheaval that formed part of this process saw massive migration from rural to urban and from country to country, and this is addressed in chapter four. The general increase in prosperity of the period was not evenly spread and those at the social margins ('guest workers', religious minorities) were excluded from the 'bounty of the golden age' as discussed in chapter five. The cultural impact of this period of change and growing Europeanisation is studied in chapter six, and in chapter seven the avant-garde is examined and offered as a barometer of the social and cultural tensions. The collapse of communism and the consequent economic crisis are explored in chapter eight. The almost simultaneous rise of Europeanists and the Brussels cluster and the dominance of Franco-German relations in that debate are covered in chapter nine. The economic benefits of increasing unity through integration and enlargement are discussed in chapter ten, which closes with the proposition that through economic and monetary union Europe will one day move to political union offering the prospect of USE - United States of Europe!

The work will interest scholars, students, policy researchers and practitioners in the fields of EU studies and EU politics.

Rosemary Wakeman is Associate Professor of History at Fordham University, New York.