| Summary/Abstract |
THERE IS A STORY, possibly apocryphal, that while briefing Richard Nixon for his 1972 visit to China, Henry Kissinger told the President that Zhou Enlai was an avid student of French history. During his trip, Nixon met Zhou in the Forbidden City. As they strolled together through the gardens, Nixon remembered Kissinger's comment and asked Zhou what he thought had been the influence of the French Revolution on western civilization. Zhou paused for thought, then replied: "Too early to tell." Similarly it could well be too early to tell what the end of the Cold War means for the international system. But at least the broad outlines of some of the main issues may now be glimpsed.
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