Contemporary history
Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is one of the three major subsets of modern history, alongside the early modern period and the late modern period. The term "contemporary history" has been in use at least since the early 19th century.

Contemporary history is politically dominated by the Cold War (1945–1991) between the United States and the Soviet Union whose effects were felt across the world. The confrontation, which was mainly fought through proxy wars and through intervention in the internal politics of smaller nations, ultimately ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact in 1991, following the Revolutions of 1989. The latter stages and aftermath of the Cold War enabled the democratisation of much of Europe, Africa, and Latin America. In the Middle East, the period after 1945 was dominated by conflict involving the new state of Israel and the rise of petroleum politics, as well as the growth of Islamism after the 1980s. The first supranational organisations of government, such as the United Nations and European Union, emerged during the period after 1945, while the European colonial empires in Africa and Asia collapsed, gone by 1975. Countercultures rose and the sexual revolution transformed social relations in western countries between the 1960s and 1980s, epitomised by the Protests of 1968. Living standards rose sharply across the developed world because of the post-war economic boom, whereby major economies such as Japan and West Germany emerged. The culture of the United States, especially consumerism, spread widely. By the 1960s, many western countries had begun deindustrializing; in their place, globalization led to the emergence of new industrial centres, such as Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and later China, which exported consumer goods to developed countries.

Science made new advances after 1945: spaceflight, nuclear technology, laser and semiconductor technology were developed alongside molecular biology and genetics, particle physics, and the Standard Model of quantum field theory. Meanwhile, the first computers were created, followed by the Internet, beginning the Information Age.

In 2020, an outbreak of the COVID-19 disease, first documented in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, spread to other countries becoming a global pandemic, which caused a major socio-economic disruption all over the world. Many countries ordered mandatory lockdowns on movement and closures of non-essential businesses. The pandemic was described by some commentators as the most important global event of the 21st century, as well as the greatest crisis of modern times.
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historiography
Concept
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modern history
Concept
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historical period
UNK
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late modern period
Concept
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early modern period
Concept
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politically
Concept
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Cold War
EVE
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Soviet Union
LOC
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proxy war
Concept
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dissolution of the Soviet Union
EVE
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Warsaw Pact
ORG
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Revolutions of 1989
TIME
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democratisation
Concept
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conflict involving the new state of Israel
Concept
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petroleum politics
Concept
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Islamism
Concept
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European Union
ORG
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colonial empire
Concept
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Counterculture
Concept
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sexual revolution
Concept
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social
Concept
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Protests of 1968
EVE
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developed world
Concept
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post-war economic boom
UNK
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West Germany
LOC
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culture of the United States
ORG
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consumerism
Concept
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deindustrializing
Concept
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globalization
Concept
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Japan
LOC
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Taiwan
LOC
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South Korea
LOC
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China
LOC
Q132453
developed countries
Concept
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Science
Concept
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spaceflight
Concept
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nuclear technology
Concept
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laser
Concept
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semiconductor
Concept
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molecular biology
Concept
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genetics
Concept
Q18334
particle physics
Concept
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Standard Model
Concept
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quantum field theory
UNK
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Information Age
Concept
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COVID-19
Concept
Q11746
Wuhan
LOC
Q148
China
LOC
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global pandemic
Concept
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lockdowns
Concept
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21st century
Concept
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Contemporary history
Concept
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Contemporary history
Concept
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Contemporary history
Concept
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country
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