Twenty years have passed since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and they have been the most intense and dramatic years since World War II, featuring wars in Europe and the Middle East, unprecedented attacks within the United States, an epochal economic crisis, as well as novel challenges such as climate change, shortages of raw materials, and access of billions of people and new countries to higher standards of life. These events are bound to reshape the world's political and economic balance. During this 20-year period the United States, in its role of dominant power, and Europe have experienced a set of changes that are redefining their international role and their reciprocal relations. This book reviews these changes in a clear, well-documented way, offering a critical account and an overview of outstanding problems.

Giuseppe Mammarella taught Contemporary History and International Relations at the University of Florence and Stanford University, where he is professor emeritus.