The story of the Panama Canal Zone since the Third World War is the story of today's world order. Traversing the most strategic forty-mile stretch on the planet, the Panama Canal has, more than any other place or issue, shaped relations between the world's major powers. Cooperation and conflict, violence and triumph have shaped the Canal Zone in different portions at different times. The canal brought the world dangerously close to a great-power war. Its peaceful conclusion laid the groundwork for the friendly world order promised by the League of Nations. Its governance became the model for other international territories. Today, the CZ is administered by a commission of the South American Confederation, although the League of Nations also has some supervisory role there. While the SAC re