Cold War on Five Continents

If you’ve been feeling like Cold War history tends to get told from a very narrow, Western-centric perspective, then Cold War on Five Continents: A Global History of Empire and Espionage is going to feel like a breath of fresh air when it releases in 2026.

This is the kind of book that’s been generating serious anticipation in academic circles and among history enthusiasts alike, and for good reason. Alfred W. McCoy, the historian behind this ambitious project, is bringing a fundamentally different lens to one of the 20th century’s most consequential periods—one that finally centers the stories and devastating realities of those living far beyond the superpowers’ capitals.

What makes this book so eagerly anticipated is its ambitious scope and McCoy’s reputation for meticulous, unflinching historical analysis. Rather than treating the Cold War as primarily a U.S.-Soviet affair, this work is set to transform how we understand the conflict by examining its brutal manifestations across multiple continents. The subtitle—A Global History of Empire and Espionage—hints at the comprehensive approach McCoy is taking, one that doesn’t shy away from the dirty mechanics of geopolitical maneuvering.

Here’s what’s particularly exciting about this forthcoming release: McCoy is reframing the Cold War not as an ideological battle between two superpowers, but as a global system of empire and control that devastated countless communities. This perspective shift matters enormously for how we understand our contemporary world.

The geographical scope alone is remarkable. Rather than limiting himself to Europe or a handful of major flashpoints, McCoy is set to explore Cold War conflicts across:

• Africa – where proxy wars and colonial legacies intersected in deadly ways
• Asia – theaters of conflict that reshaped entire regions
• Latin America – zones of intensive U.S. intervention and indigenous resistance
• The Middle East – strategic battlegrounds with lasting consequences
• Other global theaters – where the Cold War’s reach extended far beyond what most textbooks acknowledge

What strikes me most about the buzz surrounding this January 2026 release is how it addresses a fundamental gap in Cold War historiography. Most popular accounts focus on the dramatic moments—the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Berlin Wall, nuclear brinksmanship—but they often gloss over or entirely omit the wars, coups, famines, and destabilizations that claimed millions of lives in places like Vietnam, Afghanistan, Angola, Nicaragua, and countless others. McCoy is anticipated to bring those stories into sharp focus, restoring them to their rightful place in our understanding of this era.

McCoy’s creative vision for this work appears to be rooted in several key themes:

1. The human cost of geopolitical competition – Moving beyond abstract superpower rivalry to examine actual communities and lives disrupted
2. Empire as a structural reality – How Cold War competition perpetuated and extended imperial relationships rather than replacing them
3. The role of espionage and covert operations – Examining how intelligence agencies shaped history in often-hidden ways
4. Local agency and resistance – Not portraying Global South actors as passive victims, but as agents navigating impossible circumstances
5. Long-term consequences – Tracing how Cold War interventions created lasting instability and shaped our contemporary geopolitical landscape

The choice of Haymarket Books as the publisher is also telling. This is a press known for publishing rigorous, politically engaged historical work that challenges mainstream narratives. The fact that McCoy’s book is being released through them signals that this won’t be a sanitized or consensus-friendly account. Expect provocative arguments, uncomfortable truths, and a willingness to implicate powerful institutions in historical wrongdoing.

Why this matters now: As we navigate a multipolar world with renewed great-power competition, understanding how the last global conflict actually played out—particularly for those outside Washington and Moscow—has never been more relevant. This book is anticipated to reshape Cold War scholarship and challenge assumptions that many of us absorbed without question.

The timing of the 2026 release is also significant. We’re at a moment when Cold War nostalgia circulates in certain political circles, often obscuring the actual devastation of that era. McCoy’s comprehensive, globally-informed history should provide essential context for this moment. When this book arrives next year, it has real potential to shift conversations in universities, policy circles, and among general readers interested in understanding how our world became what it is.

Beyond the academic sphere, what’s generating excitement is McCoy’s reputation for writing history that’s both rigorously researched and genuinely readable. This isn’t dense jargon-laden scholarship aimed only at specialists. Based on his previous work, we can anticipate a narrative that’s compelling and accessible while maintaining intellectual integrity. For anyone who wants to understand the Cold War as it actually was—not as a simplified narrative of ideological clash, but as a complex global tragedy that reshaped continents—this book is shaping up to be essential reading.

The anticipation building toward the 2026 publication reflects something larger: a growing hunger for histories that center previously marginalized perspectives and challenge triumphalist Western narratives. Cold War on Five Continents appears poised to be a landmark contribution to that conversation, one that will likely influence how this crucial historical period is taught and understood for years to come.