This is the second in the series of annual editions comprising papers published by the Institute for European Defence and Strategic Studies during the previous year. It is a unique running commentary on some of the most remarkable events of the twentieth century. The period covered by these studies coincided with the collapse of communism and the wider decline of collectivist ideas, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the Gulf War. Contributors here deal extensively with these subjects and their profound consequences for the emerging world order.

The volume is of great value to general and specialist reader alike, both as a source of reference and as a distinctive and authoritative interpretation of events. The death of communism does not presage the advent of a peaceful and more harmonious international order, according to Frost in his introduction, but we must further our understanding of Europe in order to enhance world prospects for peace and stability.