19381985

1938–1985 is a shorthand used in historical writing to denote a span of roughly five decades that begins in the late interwar period and extends through the mid-1980s. The designation is not a formal entity but a chronological label used to frame a set of global developments that shaped the latter half of the 20th century.

The period encompasses major political upheavals and transformations. It includes World War II and its aftermath, the emergence of a new international order, and the rapid reconfiguration of many colonial empires through decolonization in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. The Cold War defines much of the era’s geopolitics, with rival blocs, proxy conflicts, and shifting alliances defining regional and global relations for decades.

Technological, economic, and cultural change are also central to this span. The space race, atmospheric and naval power shifts, the growth of consumer electronics, and the expansion of mass media changed everyday life and communication. The postwar economic boom in many regions, followed by periodic economic challenges in the 1970s and 1980s, affected development trajectories worldwide. Social movements—civil rights, feminist and student activism, and labor movements—helped reshape political discourse and social norms across multiple societies.

The latter part of the period culminates in reforms associated with the mid-1980s, notably the rise of reform leadership in the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev, signaling a transition to new political dynamics. The phrase remains a concise historical frame rather than a specific subject.