Global history has now been established as a field in historical studies for a decade. One of its fundamental demands is a renunciation of Eurocentrism in research on and analysis of world-historical developments. A mere glance at the important historical works published in the twentieth century shows that historical research was already well aware of the issues and problem areas involved. World history thus appears as a precursor for global-history approaches. This book provides a vivid and exemplary introduction to the models and conceptual structures used in global history, and in a comprehensive analysis explains the way in which global history has developed, what the term means and the prospects for this new direction in research.

Prof. Rolf-Ulrich Kunze teaches modern and contemporary history at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).