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This book states that the prevailing international situation is quite different from that which existed in earlier times. At present, there is no major competition among different countries of the world regarding capture of territory or power. The United States is focusing on developing better relationships with other countries despite its military and political dominance in the global scenario. The emergence of other global powers has resulted in significant changes in the dynamic geopolitical scenario. The manner in which developing countries, Russia, and Japan continue to grow and retain their supremacy and international position will determine how the United States reacts to these developments and prepares policies accordingly.

This chapter describes how, before his departure from Gascony in the autumn of 1243, Henry III had worked hard to set the province to rights. He had toured the duchy, reconciled competing factions, maintained his rights, and bolstered the defences against external attack, or at least tried to do so. But, as a would-be conqueror of Gascony had once said, it was like trying to plough the seashore. For the next ten years, Henry was never free from Gascon worries. They led him in 1248 to place the duchy under Simon de Montfort and, when that ended in disaster, they forced him in 1253 to go there himself, despite being now pledged to go on crusade. Henry's concentration on Gascony and commitment to the crusade reflected the more general international situation, which left him with little else to do. There was no chance of attempting to recover the lost continental empire. Indeed, the ten years between Henry's two sojourns in Gascony in 1243 and 1253 saw a significant shift in the European balance of power towards the Capetian kings of France.

It is often argued that the period after the first Five-Year Plan marked a relaxation of political and social tensions. The targets of the second plan were reduced. The famine was brought to a close and some concessions were made to the peasantry. The political police was brought under the control of the party. But this chapter explores the countervailing tensions and insecurities. The international situation of the USSR worsened sharply as anti-Communist right-wing dictatorships came to power in Europe and Asia. At the same time, though the second Five-Year Plan was nominally more moderate, local officials had to engage in corrupt practices order to create the impression of plan fulfilment. Tensions between leadership and officialdom meant that decline of party institutions and Stalin’s accumulation of personal power was driven be fear rather than ambition.