The expectation that the Cold War's end would bring lasting peace is criticized for concentrating on Europe. Wars elsewhere continued, yet their persistence could be dismissed as a temporary problem confined to other societies. This view assumed that major conflict would not return among supposedly more enlightened European states. The criticism extends to a form of prejudice based on low expectations, in which harmful conduct is excused as someone else's culture without checking whether that culture approves of it.
Notable Point · 2:04:10-2:05:29
The European assumption behind predictions of lasting peace
A critique of post-Cold War optimism examines why peace in Europe was mistaken for a general end to war and how conflict elsewhere was discounted.