<!--QuoteBegin--Ryo-Ohki+Nov 5 2003, 10:32 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Ryo-Ohki @ Nov 5 2003, 10:32 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Hmm. I wouldn't say that is a result of the EU itself.
From 1945 - 1991, the main reason for the lack of major warfare in Europe was that the continent was divided into two armed camps: NATO vs the Warsaw Pact. Both sides, whilst maintaining massive conventional forces, also possessed vast nuclear arsonals. Thus, with Mutually Assured Destruction there was no conflict.*
Post-1991 2 European powers (3 if you want to count Russia) still have atomic weaponry. Eastern Europe is more concerned with rebuilding itself after 50 years of communist corruption and mismanagment, and Western Europe is much more interested in commercial and economic gains than military campaigns against other European nations. The spread of capitalist democratic governments has doubtless had an effect upon this.**
Yet even so, I still feel that the cultural gaps between the EU member states are too great. You just can't bury centuries of conflict overnight. Sure, it could happen, but I'm not holding my breath waiting for that day. Europe's nations still retain too much nationalism for the EU to be anything more than a loose alliance.*** <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> *Sure, the Cold War did play a great part in Europes postwar military stability. This stability, however, was not only military in its nature; tradewars were absent. The eastern european states have not been incorporated into the EU.
**Before WWII, western Europe was already largely democratic. Only a few dictators, like Mussolini, Hitler and Franco were temporary rulers, but those countries had all had democratic gouvernments before that. You might ask yourself WHY the european state were focussed on mutual economic progress. My answer to this is (partly) the European Union.
***The european Union is over fifty years old, so there is no need to "bury centuries of conflict overnight". Furthermore, to have a powerful state, cultural conflict is allowed. Take the world's largest democracy, India.
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From 1945 - 1991, the main reason for the lack of major warfare in Europe was that the continent was divided into two armed camps: NATO vs the Warsaw Pact. Both sides, whilst maintaining massive conventional forces, also possessed vast nuclear arsonals. Thus, with Mutually Assured Destruction there was no conflict.*
Post-1991 2 European powers (3 if you want to count Russia) still have atomic weaponry. Eastern Europe is more concerned with rebuilding itself after 50 years of communist corruption and mismanagment, and Western Europe is much more interested in commercial and economic gains than military campaigns against other European nations. The spread of capitalist democratic governments has doubtless had an effect upon this.**
Yet even so, I still feel that the cultural gaps between the EU member states are too great. You just can't bury centuries of conflict overnight. Sure, it could happen, but I'm not holding my breath waiting for that day. Europe's nations still retain too much nationalism for the EU to be anything more than a loose alliance.*** <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
*Sure, the Cold War did play a great part in Europes postwar military stability. This stability, however, was not only military in its nature; tradewars were absent. The eastern european states have not been incorporated into the EU.
**Before WWII, western Europe was already largely democratic. Only a few dictators, like Mussolini, Hitler and Franco were temporary rulers, but those countries had all had democratic gouvernments before that. You might ask yourself WHY the european state were focussed on mutual economic progress. My answer to this is (partly) the European Union.
***The european Union is over fifty years old, so there is no need to "bury centuries of conflict overnight". Furthermore, to have a powerful state, cultural conflict is allowed. Take the world's largest democracy, India.