The Prospects of Peace in Europe

It is evident even to the casual observer that in the perspective of modern history, one force-nationalismhas triumphed over all others and is triumphing throughout the wvorld. In its wake, the world is being decentralized politically. This process, sometimes called Balkanization, did not begin in the Balkans. It began in Western Europe in the Middle Ages and has gradually spread east and west. Social scientists have declaimed at length against it, showing its destructive character and its dangers to peace, but they have been no more effective than those who would bid the waves be still. Nationalism has been one of the motive forces behind most of the wars of modern times, and the World War was no exception to this fundamental trend. In it, nationalism again triumphed. New nations were created. Such empires as increased their territories had to make concessions to this

Political science · Balkans: History, Politics, Society