The roughly 200 detailed entries in this annually updated reference offer readers thorough background plus up-to-date coverage. Entries on national governments, arranged alphabetically, incorporate elections through 2011, newly formed parties and new party leaders, political events and foreign policy initiatives, and current population figures and economic statistics. Intergovernmental organizations, treated in separate entries, include, for example, the African Union Arab League, United Nations (each council, and specialized agencies), the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization, among many others. Appended are chronologies of major international events, 1945-2011, and of international conferences sponsored by the United Nations; membership of the UN and its related agencies; and a serials list. Acknowledgement is given in the preface to Arthur S. Banks (d.2011) who was editor for more than 35 years, and to longtime support from the Research Foundation of the State University New York at Binghamton (where Banks was affiliated).CQ Press is an imprint of SAGE Publications. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)