The Korean War was a major twentieth century struggle which emerged out of the nexus between Korean, American, Soviet, and Chinese diplomatic and strategic objectives in Northeast Asia in the aftermath of the decolonisation of the Japanese empire. It was at this point that Communist China came onto the international stage for the first time and, in the wake of the conflict, Germany entered NATO, Japan received its peace treaty, the Cold War became militarised and the US increased its global commitment to fighting communism. The war had a transformative impact on North and South Korea, and consolidated the postwar division of the two states. This volume provides a concise international history of the Korean War. It situates the origins and dynamics of the conflict within a global context and relates the events surrounding the hostilities to the broad currents of twentieth century world history. The discussion addresses significant themes and topics, including the conflict's origins and social dimensions, the armistice negotiations, and the 1954 Geneva Conference on Korea. Key features include:

• Contextualisation of the conflict within a global setting
• Discussion of the social history of the war
• Analysis of historiographical debates
• Primary documents section allowing the reader greater depth of understanding of critical developments in the conflict
• Glossary and Who's Who providing easy reference introductions to important events and personalities