Pax Europaea
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Pax Europaea (English: the European peace – after the historical Pax Romana), was the period of relative peace experienced by Europe in the period following World War II—often associated above all with the creation of the European Union (EU) and its predecessors.[1] After the Cold War this peace was even more evident because of the fall in political tensions, with the major exception of the Yugoslav Wars, The Troubles in Northern Ireland and various tensions and wars involving or within Russia. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
However, due to the 2021-2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis, this period is considered to have ended due to Russia declaring war on Ukraine, which could be the biggest European war since World War II.[2]
History
Transatlantic cooperation and European integration was designed to maintain the fragile peace that was created in Europe. With the continent consistently falling into war over the past centuries the creation of the European Communities in the 1950s set to integrate its members to such an extent that war between them would be impossible. These Communities, and other organisations including NATO expanded to cover most of Western Europe, Northern Europe and Southern Europe. Although Central and Eastern Europe remained under Soviet influence, they too experienced little conflict, with the major exception of internal repression, until the 1990s when a series of wars in Yugoslavia broke out as the country disintegrated. The EU structures were criticised for its inability to prevent the conflict, though the zone is now within its sphere of enlargement.
The EU now comprises 27 countries with majority of European non-member states seeking membership (twelve countries joined the EU in 2000s). In addition to that, most countries which remain outside are tied to the EU by economic agreements and treaties such as the European Economic Area. Within the zone of integration, there has been no conflict since 1945, making it the longest period of peace on the western European mainland since Pax Romana.
The European Union was awarded the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of its efforts to maintain and actively foster peace within its borders as well as internationally through diplomatic means.[3]
Even though a number of armed conflicts occurred on the European peninsula after World War II, none of them have been between members of the European Union. Most of these conflicts have taken place in the former Yugoslavia and Soviet Union.
List of wars
List of wars in Europe during the post-WW2 period
(Note: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia can be considered part of Europe or Western Asia; they are listed here for completeness)
- Greek Civil War (Greece, 1946–1949)
- Northern Ireland Conflict, (1960s–1998)
- Basque conflict (1959–2011)
- Cyprus Emergency, (Greek Cypriots (EOKA) vs. United Kingdom, 1955–1959)
- Soviet invasion of Hungary (Soviet Union vs. Hungary, 1956)
- Invasion of Czechoslovakia (Soviet Union vs. Czechoslovakia, 1968)
- Turkish invasion of Cyprus (Cyprus vs. Turkey, 1974)
- Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (Armenia vs. Azerbaijan, 1988-present)
- Yugoslav Wars, 1991–2001
- Ten-Day War (Slovenia vs. Yugoslavia, 1991)
- Croatian War of Independence (Croatia vs. Yugoslavia, 1991–1995)
- Bosnian War (Bosnia vs. Yugoslavia, 1992–1995)
- Kosovo War (Kosovo vs. Yugoslavia, 1998–1999)
- Insurgency in the Preševo Valley (UÇPMB vs. Yugoslavia, 1999–2001)
- 2001 insurgency in the Republic of North Macedonia (National Liberation Army vs. North Macedonia, 2001)
- Georgian Civil War (Georgia, 1991–1993)
- East Prigorodny Conflict (Ingush militia vs. Russia, 1992)
- War of Transnistria (Transnistria vs. Moldova, 1992)
- Chechen–Russian conflict
- First Chechen War (1994–1996)
- War of Dagestan (1999)
- Second Chechen War (1999–2000)
- Albanian Rebellion of 1997 (Albania, 1997)
- Russo-Georgian War (Georgia vs. Russia, 2008)
- 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine
- Kumanovo clashes (National Liberation Army vs. North Macedonia, 2015)
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Wars involving European countries during the post-WW2 period
- Indonesian War of Independence (Netherlands)
- Suez Crisis (UK and France)
- First Indochina War (France)
- Algerian War (France)
- Ifni War (France and Spain)
- Bizerte crisis (France)
- Angolan War of Independence (Portugal)
- Dhofar Rebellion (UK)
- Guinea-Bissau War of Independence (Portugal)
- Mozambican War of Independence (Portugal)
- Shaba I and II (France and Belgium)
- Falklands War, 1982 (UK)
- Afghanistan War, 2001–2014 (NATO)
- Iraq War, 2003–2011 (UK and Poland)
- Military intervention in Libya, 2011 (NATO)
- Northern Mali conflict, 2012–2015 (France)
- Central African Republic conflict (France)
See also
- European integration
- Enlargement of the European Union
- Member state of the European Union
- Pax Americana
- Pax Britannica
- Pax Hispanica
References
- ^ Tsoukalis, Loukas (2005). What Kind of Europe?. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-927948-7.
- ^ McBride, Courtney; Cherney, Mike (11 February 2022). "U.S. Warns Allies That Ukraine Crisis Puts Post-World War II Order at Risk". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
- ^ Herman Van Rompuy; José Manuel Durão Barroso (10 December 2012). "From War to Peace: A European Tale". Nobel Lecture by the European Union. Retrieved 4 January 2014.