Wars since 1945. An Introduction

  • While most Europeans lived through an exceptionally peaceful period of history, termed ‘The Long Peace’ by John Lewis Gaddis,2 the populations of other continents were decidedly less fortunate. What was a ‘Cold War’ for the Europeans was anything but ‘cold’ for the Koreans, Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians, for most Arab peoples, the Afghans, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, and Indians, the populations of the Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea, and of most of Latin America. How, then, can one be so sanguine as to characterise this period as that of a ‘Cold War’ or a ‘long peace’? The reason is that the long-expected Third World War has not (yet?) taken place. It was the prospect of such a Third World War, a ‘total’ and in all probability nuclear war, that attracted the attention of concerned minds in Europe and North America, the cultures that over centuries produced most publications on the subjects of war, strategy, military affairs and international relations.

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Metadaten
Author:Beatrice HeuserORCiDGND
URL:https://www.zeithistorische-forschungen.de/1-2005/4523
DOI:https://doi.org/10.14765/zzf.dok-2032
Parent Title (English):Zeithistorische Forschungen – Studies in Contemporary History
Publisher:ZZF – Centre for Contemporary History: Zeithistorische Forschungen
Place of publication:Potsdam
Document Type:Journal Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2005/01/10
Date of first Publication:2005/01/10
Release Date:2020/11/22
Volume:2
Issue:1
First Page:4
Last Page:16
ZZF Topic-Classification:Gewalt
Militär
Politik
Kalter Krieg
Friedens und Konfliktforschung
Global History
Weltgeschichte
Internationale Beziehungen
Cold War Studies
Krieg
ZZF Chronological-Classification:1945-
21. Jahrhundert
ZZF Regional-Classification:regional übergreifend
Web-Publications:Zeithistorische Forschungen
Studies in Contemporary History: Articles:1 / 2005 Kriege nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg
Licence (German):License LogoZZF - Clio Lizenz