History of the Modern World. From AD 1500 to AD 2013

Description

This book describes the evolution of the modern world in historicalcontext. Europe’s contribution to the making of the modern world has beensubstantial, as can be appreciated from the initial chapters― Renaissance,Major Ideas of Enlightenment and Rise of Socialist Ideas. The othercontributions include the development of parliamentary democracy, the riseof industrial revolution and the emergence of the nation states. Imperialismand colonialism have been part and parcel of Europe’s dark legacy. The 19thcentury witnessed, what is aptly described by historian C.D.M. Ketelbey, the“Europeanisation of the world.”The first half of the 20th century witnessed two devastating world warsthat led to untold sufferings, eventually leading to the decline of Europeand the emergence of two superpowers―the US and the Soviet Union.The latter half saw the birth of independent states in Asia and Africa, andalso an ideological conflict (“Cold War”) between the capitalist west andthe communist bloc. The UN today is trying its best to maintain peaceand security in the world, despite attempts being made to undermine itslegitimacy. The book delineates the grave challenges facing the world―environmental degradation, religious extremism, global terrorism, humanrights violations and nuclear proliferation. However, as they say, ‘Everycloud has a silver lining.’ Rapid developments in the fields of science andtechnology, medicine, and agriculture have enhanced the quality of life,improved governance, eradicated many deadly diseases, and increasedfood production.