The European Civil War is a term of historical argumentation in the form of an overarching construct tying a series of 19th and 20th century conflicts between sovereign nations in the now partially unified continent of Europe.
Some historians argue the period that started with the 1870 Franco-Prussian War and ended with World War II constituted an era they term the European Civil War, that notably included both world wars and many lesser wars. The earlier wars are regarded as causes for the wars that followed.
The term seeks to explain the rapid decline of Europe's global hegemony and the emergence of the European Union. By this self-mutilation, it is argued, Europe lost its position in the world, its hegemony, and caused itself to be divided into two spheres of influence: one "Western", and one Soviet.
Read more about European Civil War: Comparative Application of The 'European Civil War' Concept, The Supporting Case, The Opposing Case
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“We have heard all of our lives how, after the Civil War was over, the South went back to straighten itself out and make a living again. It was for many years a voiceless part of the government. The balance of power moved away from it—to the north and the east. The problems of the north and the east became the big problem of the country and nobody paid much attention to the economic unbalance the South had left as its only choice.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“England is nothing but the last ward of the European madhouse, and quite possibly it will prove to be the ward for particularly violent cases.”
—Leon Trotsky (1879–1940)
“The common goal of 22 million Afro-Americans is respect as human beings, the God-given right to be a human being. Our common goal is to obtain the human rights that America has been denying us. We can never get civil rights in America until our human rights are first restored. We will never be recognized as citizens there until we are first recognized as humans.”
—Malcolm X (1925–1965)
“You say it is the good cause that hallows even war? I say unto you: it is the good war that hallows any cause.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)