Designed as a reference guide, this volume provides detailed information about current major armed conflicts around the world. It includes a concise history of each conflict, an account of the ideological and political motivations of the participants and their backers, an assessment of the present balance of forces and the degree of popular support, portraits of the major forces in each conflict and an estimate of their likely future course. It also provides a full list of coups and assassinations since 1945 including Mrs Gandhi, Olaf Palme and Lord Mountbatten.