| 1 | The origins of the First World War | Long-term background causes · Alliance blocs and diplomatic tensions · The arms race and naval expansion |
| 2 | The First World War 1914-1918 | Main Sides and the Global Nature of the War · Why the War Lasted So Long · The Western Front in 1914 |
| 3 | A bitter peace 1918-33 | Ending of the First World War and the idea of a bitter peace · Brest-Litovsk and the eastern settlement · Versailles settlement and the Big Four |
| 4 | The road to war | Background: why international peace became fragile · Japan and the first major act of aggression · Stalin and the Soviet response to danger |
| 5 | The Second World War 1939-45 | The Four Phases of the War · Early Axis Successes, 1939-1940 · The Widening War, 1941 to Summer 1942 |
| 6 | The Cold War: Problems of international relations after the Second World War | Meaning and overall course of the Cold War · Causes of the Cold War · Yalta and Potsdam Conferences |
| 7 | The spread of communism outside Europe and its effects on international relations | Spread of communism in Asia · Cuba and the spread of revolution · Vietnam and American intervention |
| 8 | The United Nations Organization | Origin, Aims, and Basic Idea · Structure of the United Nations · Decision-Making in the UN |
| 9 | The Two Europes, East and West since 1945 | Europe after 1945: division and recovery · Western Europe: cooperation and integration · Britain and western European unity |
| 10 | Conflict in the Middle East | The Middle East: setting and background · Arab unity and resistance to outside influence · Creation of Israel and the first Arab-Israeli war, 1948-9 |
| 11 | The new world order and the war against global terrorism | Post-Cold War world and the idea of a new order · Meaning of terrorism and the problem of definition · Rise of global terrorism before 9/11 |
| 12 | Italy, 1918-45: The first appearance of Fascism | Why Mussolini was able to come to power · How Mussolini built the Fascist state · Fascist methods: propaganda, youth, and control |
| 13 | Germany, 1918-45: The Weimar Republic and Hitler | From Empire to Republic, 1918-1919 · Political Violence and Weakness, 1919-1923 · Economic Crisis, Inflation and Recovery |
| 14 | Russia, 1894-1917 | Russia under Nicholas II · Economy, society, and rural life · Political unrest, repression, and war with Japan |
| 15 | Russia under Lenin and Stalin | The Revolutions of 1917 · Lenin's Consolidation of Power · War with Germany and the Civil War |
| 16 | Continuing communism, collapse and aftermath, 1953 to the present | Khrushchev and de-Stalinization, 1953-64 · Brezhnev era, stagnation, and control, 1964-85 · Gorbachev, reform, and the collapse of communism, 1985-91 |
| 17 | China, 1900-49 | Background to Crisis in China · 1911 Revolution and Yuan Shikai · Twenty-One Demands and Anti-Japanese Feeling |
| 18 | China since 1949: The communists in control | Mao’s takeover and the task of rebuilding China · Agricultural change under Mao · Hundred Flowers and the Cultural Revolution |
| 19 | Communism in Korea and south-east Asia | Comparative overview and key themes |
| 20 | USA boom and bust: 1900-29 | America at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century · Progressivism, Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson · War, Red Scare and Civil Liberties |
| 21 | Roosevelt and the New Deal: 1929-45 | The Great Crash and the Great Depression · Hoover's Response and the Election of 1932 · Roosevelt's Leadership Style and the Hundred Days |
| 22 | USA 1945-68: Uneven prosperity | Truman and the post-war settlement · Eisenhower, affluence, and limited reform · Brown v. Board and the civil rights movement |
| 23 | USA 1968-2012: Opportunity and Challenge | Richard Nixon and the Imperial Presidency · Ford and Carter: Weakness of the Presidency · Reagan and the Shift to the Right |
| 24 | The end of the European empires | Why the European empires declined after 1945 · Indian independence and Partition · The West Indies, Malaya, and Cyprus |
| 25 | Africa since independence | Common problems faced by African states after independence · Ghana: from Nkrumah to Rawlings · Nigeria: civil war, military rule, and oil wealth |
| 26 | Latin America | Latin America: Region and Early Problems · US Domination and Cold War Intervention · Brazil: From Vargas to Rousseff |
| 27 | The changing world economy since 1900 | Shift in world industrial leadership · The capitalist and communist blocs after 1945 · The Third World and the North-South divide |
| 28 | The world's population | Population growth: main trends and statistics · Regional patterns of population growth · Causes of population increase |