The futile attempt to avoid a Second World War : 1920s revisionism and 1930s appeasement in Europe -- The decision to drop the bomb -- From punishment to rehabilitation : the decision to reconstruct Germany, 1943-7 -- Creating the European Union -- A reversal of interests : U.S. containment policy and the origins of the Vietnam tragedy -- German unification and the end of the Cold War -- U.S. hegemonic decline : a new status for Japan in U.S.-Japan trade relations -- The disintegration of Yugoslavia and the paralysis of the international community