European Civil War
A French satirical cartoon map of Europe in 1870 shows a continent fractured by political lines. This image captures the era when historians began to view European conflicts as segments of an overarching civil war within a supposed European society. The concept characterizes a series of 19th- and early 20th-century conflicts as one continuous struggle rather than isolated events. Timeframes associated with this theory vary among historians who study the period. Some descriptions range from 1914 to 1945, thus including World War I, World War II, and many lesser conflicts of the interwar period. Other accounts argue that this period started in 1870 with the Franco-Prussian War or even in 1905. The notion also serves to explain the process of European integration and the creation of the European Union as a peaceful solution to this conflict.
European culture is relatively homogeneous, with most nations tracing the roots of their culture to two principal sources, namely Christianity and classical antiquity. At the end of the conflict, elites in the different countries of Europe began work to create a community of nations that has since grown into the European Union. The heads of state in many European nations were so closely related as to constitute branches of the same family. While separate, their respective legal systems were remarkably similar and evolved to become more so over time. This continuity of armed conflicts in Europe between the various time frames supports the idea of a single internal struggle. Civil wars usually result in the emergence of a new or restrengthened central authority. The emergence of the European Union from World War II is central to the argument as competing parties within the same country or empire struggle for national control of state power.
Strong distinctions in religions and political systems existed between European nations at the beginning of the period which undermine the idea that Europe formed a united civil society. No consensus has emerged over many details and links, such as the Spanish Civil War (1936, 1939) or the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War (1917, 1923). Other stress the global, i.e., not strictly European, nature of both world wars, which the characterization sometimes fails to account for. There is no consensus on its application to related conflicts outside the fringes of Europe such as the Japanese invasion of China and campaigns in the Pacific theater and Southeast Asia theater of World War II. The role of the United States in these events is also difficult to explain within the construct. Thus, the concept of a European Civil War is difficult to reconcile with the involvement of numerous sovereign non-colonial combatants in the conflicts in Europe from continents other than Europe, including South America (Brazil) and the Pacific (Thailand).
The University of Massachusetts Boston argues 1945 as the end-date, but the beginning of the conflict in 1917 with the Russian Civil War. For the self-mutilation perspective there is a tendency to stretch the beginning to as early as the start of the Franco-Prussian War on the 19th of July 1870 and the end to as late as the reunification of Germany of 1990. The London School of Economics course European Civil War: 1890 to 1990 argues that 1945 was the end date and that the second half of the 20th century was the result of the conflagration's aftermath. The University of Hong Kong's Department of History proposes dividing the content into two sections, with one covering 1914-1945 and the second 1945 onwards. K. M. Panikkar's original range from 1914 to 1945 is among the chronological ranges proposed, but it does not explain some of these problems.
The central proponents of the European Civil War were originally based at the history department of the London School of Economics. In his 1996 work The Republic Besieged: Civil War in Spain 1936, 1939, Paul Preston describes the Spanish Civil War as an episode in a greater European Civil War that ended in 1945. The department even included the subject as a course in its own right taught by Dr. Robert Boyce. An early reference to this concept occurs during the 1970s television series The World at War when historian Stephen Ambrose comments that 1945 witnessed an invasion of an exhausted Europe by Russian and American armies. Earlier still were comments by Indian diplomat K. M. Panikkar in his 1955 book Asia and Western Dominance 1498-1945. Others who have used the notion include professor emeritus of Sociology at the University of Rome, University of California, Berkeley's Anthony Adamthwaite and Duke University's J. M. Roberts.
At the end of the conflict, elites in the different countries of Europe began work to create a community of nations that has since grown into the European Union. Some academics regard the First and Second World Wars as part of the same conflict with a 22-year cease-fire. The theory defines the Spanish and Russian civil wars as intermediate conflicts and links the roots of World War I back to the earlier Franco-Prussian conflict regarding political changes in Italy, Portugal and elsewhere in a single context. In his 1996 work A History of Europe, Roberts stated that the European Civil War ended the dominance of Europe in the world. The emergence of the European Union from World War II is central to the argument as a civil war typically occurs when competing parties within the same country or empire struggle for national control of state power.
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Common questions
What is the European Civil War concept?
The European Civil War concept describes 19th and 20th century conflicts in Europe as one continuous civil war rather than isolated events. Historians view these struggles as segments of an overarching conflict within a supposed European society.
When did the European Civil War start according to some historians?
Some accounts argue that this period started on the 19th of July 1870 with the Franco-Prussian War or even in 1905. Other descriptions range from 1914 to 1945, thus including World War I, World War II, and many lesser conflicts of the interwar period.
Who are the central proponents of the European Civil War theory?
The central proponents of the European Civil War were originally based at the history department of the London School of Economics. Notable figures include Dr. Robert Boyce who taught the subject as a course, Paul Preston, Anthony Adamthwaite, J. M. Roberts, and K. M. Panikkar.
How does the European Union relate to the European Civil War?
The emergence of the European Union from World War II is central to the argument as competing parties within the same country or empire struggle for national control of state power. Elites in the different countries of Europe began work to create a community of nations that has since grown into the European Union after the conflict ended.
What are the criticisms of the European Civil War concept?
Strong distinctions in religions and political systems existed between European nations at the beginning of the period which undermine the idea that Europe formed a united civil society. There is no consensus on its application to related conflicts outside the fringes of Europe such as the Japanese invasion of China and campaigns in the Pacific theater and Southeast Asia theater of World War II.