Berend, Ivan T. Europe Since 1980. 2010. A useful introduction to contemporary European history, including the crash of 2008 and its consequences.
Caldwell, Christopher. Reflections on the Revolution in Europe: Immigration, Islam, and the West. 2009. A controversial and thought-provoking book that emphasizes the problems associated with growing numbers of Muslim immigrants in Europe.
Gillingham, John. European Integration, 1950–2003: Superstate or New Market Economy? 2003. A brilliant interpretive history.
Jordan, Andrew. Environmental Policy in the European Union: Actors, Institutions and Processes. 2005. A critical look at the European Union’s response to major environmental problems.
Klausen, Jytte. The Islamic Challenge: Politics and Religion in Western Europe. 2006. Reviews the goals of Europe’s Islamic leaders and takes a positive view of future Muslim integration in western Europe.
Noueihed, Lin, and Alex Warren. The Battle for the Arab Spring: Revolution, Counter-Revolution, and the Making of a New Era. 2012. Explores the causes and results of the ongoing popular revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa.
Pinder, John, and Simon Usherwood. The European Union: A Very Short Introduction. 2008. A readable overview of the history, institutions, and policies of the European Union.
Ramet, Sabrina P. Balkan Babel: The Disintegration of Yugoslavia from the Death of Tito to the Fall of Milošević. 2002. A thorough history of the collapse of Yugoslavia.
Ryan, Johnny. A History of the Internet and the Digital Future. 2011. An accessible review of the way electronic communications are changing commercial, political, and cultural life.
Sakwa, Richard. Putin: Russia’s Choice, 2d ed. 2008. Puts the Russian leader in social and historical context.
Soros, George. Financial Turmoil in Europe and the United States: Essays. 2012. A collection of accessible articles on the 2008 global recession that offers explanations and prescriptions for overcoming the crisis in the U.S. and Europe.
Stiglitz, Joseph E. Making Globalization Work. 2006. An excellent overview of the successes and failures of globalization by a distinguished economist.
Tarrow, Sidney. The New Transnational Activism. 2005. A sympathetic account of the transnational activism opposed to corporate globalization.
DOCUMENTARIES
Debtocracy (Aris Hatzistefanou, Katerina Kitidi, 2011). Explores the causes of the Greek debt crisis and critiques the government austerity plans intended to resolve it.
Global Warming: The Signs and the Science (PBS, 2005). Documents the evidence and effects of global warming; includes interviews with scientists on particular ways people can cope with or change this environmental problem.
Once Brothers (ESPN, 2010). A dramatized documentary about Drazen Petrovic and Vlade Divac, friends who played together on the Yugoslavian National Basketball team, but end up on separate sides of the civil war.
The Putin System (Jean-Michel Carré, 2007). A documentary about Vladimir Putin’s rise to power.
FEATURE FILMS AND TELEVISION
Bend It Like Beckham (Gurinder Chadha, 2002). In a multicultural comedy, a female soccer player from a London Indian background falls in love with her Irish coach, thus challenging traditional values of her family.
The Class (Laurent Cantet, 2008). A teacher attempts to connect with his culturally diverse students in a working-class neighborhood in Paris.
Good Bye Lenin! (Wolfgang Becker, 2003). This comedy drama depicts Ostalgie through the story of a young man’s efforts to re-create East Germany for his mother, who has recently awoken from a coma after the reunification of Germany.
WEB SITES
European Union. The European Union sponsors this Web site that explains “How the EU Works” and gives access to documents pertaining to the EU, among other resources. europa.eu/
The History Place: Genocide in the 20th Century: Bosnia-Herzegovina. An overview of the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia in the 1990s. www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/bosnia.htm
Riots in France. An online forum set up by the Social Science Research Council for scholars to discuss the 2005 riots in France. riotsfrance.ssrc.org/
World Trade Organization. The homepage of the World Trade Organization, which includes official documents pertaining to the WTO. www.wto.org/