Pax Europeana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)
Any material not supported by sources may be challenged and removed at any time. This article has been tagged since February 2007.

Pax Europeana, Latin for "the European peace", is the long period of relative peace experienced by Northern and Western Europe (including Greece and Turkey) in the period following World War II. After the Cold War this peace can be considered to be extended to most (but not all) of Central and Eastern Europe, with the exception of Hungary (1956), Czechoslovakia (1968), and the territories of former Yugoslavia (1990s).

Northern and Western Europe was after World War II characterized by increasing European and transatlantic cooperation and integration, which is regarded by many as the root cause for this period of peace. See for instance: the European Union and its predecessors, NATO, OSCE and Council of Europe. After the Cold War many Central and Eastern European joined or tried to join this integration process.

The current peace in Europe stands in contrast with the earlier history of Europe, which was characterized by many bloody wars, and the Pax Europeana can be seen as an extension of the Pax Americana.