Does the EU Make War Impossible?

The ideal of European unity takes on new meaning in the aftermath of World War Two. When combined with the hard-headed geopolitics of the early Cold War it looks like it might be a reality. Does this United States of Europe make another continental war impossible?
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Hosted by: Spartacus Olsson
Written by: Francis van Berkel
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Francis van Berkel
Image Research by: Miki Cackowski
Edited by: Miki Cackowski
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Colorizations:
Adrien Fillon - / adrien.colorisationdaniel Weiss
Mikołaj Uchman
Sources:
NARA
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries
Bundesarchiv
Signatories of the Treaty of Paris, © Communautés européennes 1950 1959 - EP
Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Howard Harper-Barnes - London
Howard Harper-Barnes - Progressive Progress
Archive by Screenocean/Reuters www.screenocea....
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

[@TimeGhost]

One subject which has always proved to be a hot button issue in EU politics is the concept of a European Military. The desire by some of the most powerful figures in Europe is somewhat understandable, as it could lead to greater integration, continental sovereignty, and obviously a stronger military. Others however argue that a EU military could infringe the sovereignty of member nations. There are also those who seek a closer European Union, but believe a military is not the right foundation on which to build this. So what do you think? Is this concept realistic? Is it an overblown non-issue? Is this concept desirable?

[@kaig7316]

Foreign affairs and national security are as of now the last major areas in which the EU has no actual say (I know there is a section in the Lissabon Treaty, but the genuine European institutions, the commission and the Parliament, have no say in it). So forming a European army would be a major symbolic act towards a United States of Europe. I myself do think further Unity is desireable, however not currently feasible. After the rejection of the 2004 European Constitution popular support has further declined. Furthermore, I don't think it is much more than symbolic. Yes, it meght save a lot of money and yes, it would perhaps strengthen the international standing of the EU, but it would do little actual work towards integration. There I think the next steps need to be true financial independence for the EU as well as a more widespread legal integration (maybe I am biased here studying law, I mean things like a common civil code, not just the numerous, but very punctual and scattered legislation we have now).

[@cofa4011]

We need a united Europe. Brexit is sad :/

[@JohnnyElRed]

Honestly, given recent disagreements with the USA, and the Brexit, I think yes. An European army is desirable. The "West" as it stands, was a great alliance through the second half of the past century formed by continental Europe on one side, and the Anglosphere on the other. With other countries like Japan and such. Now obviously the USA and the UK are looking towards another direction. More interested on declaring their sovereingty, and in what happens on the Pacific than in the Atlantic. Independently of if the EU keeps their good relations with the nations that form the Anglosphere, its obvious it can't depend on the USA as much as before, in regards to diplomatic disputes with Russia and such. An European army might not be the most desirable, but certainly would be a more secure asset than the NATO currently is.

[@pegzounet]

The point of an army is to enforce the political will of the people that fields it upon somebody else through the use of lethal force. The EU peoples do not have a unified foreign policy, doctrine, ideology, hence the EU has no business fielding a standing army. Doing so would give unwarranted power to an insufficiently legitimate command.

[@RomanHistoryFan476AD]

I think it is best people keep their militaries separate, it then allows each country to have defences that suit their needed requirements and mindset of war and affordability. The diversity of differing types of strategy and doctrines can be a handicap when first fighting together but can also give you the leg up against a foe if he does have to counter multiple doctrines rather than just one. Also there is the issue of having a countries troops die in a war that maybe the public of that country does not agree with. It is hard enough for governments to send their own troops to die in their own wars never mind those of other nations and the forces be not under their own control. Plus it will be harder to argue for defence increases when it feels to the taxpayer of a country they are funding not the defence of their homeland but of some other place instead by forces they do not have any connection to. making a united military will alienate the military from it's own people. I think it is also to risky as well for internal power grabs or corruption (This can happen to any country or organisation) to take control of the military and use it to crush the rest of the Union to obey or else. But with nations still maintaining their own forces on a national level such rogue efforts could be halted or stopped by the other forces. It will also create arguments over who should be given priority on defences, who gets to command who around, Why should French troops be ordered around by a Czech officer for example. finally who controls the nukes though, Will France keep control of it's nuclear deterrent or will that be given away to the EU High command. Because I doubt France or it's people would want their nuclear arsenal in none French hands. Alliances are fine but uniting the forces together in this century at least will not work.

[@Nhosto]

This is not really a short, just Spartacus talking really fast, probably at Indy's gunpoint. The subject of EU construction is fascinating and merits its own mini-series.

[@USSLIBERTYREMEMBERER]

gangster indy doesn’t play around, see

[@shawnr771]

Yes the building of the foundation of the EU and NATO would be interesting.

[@martijn9568]

@@JDahl-sj5lk But...nobody asked you for your opinion...

[@theoutlook55]

@@JDahl-sj5lk thank you for giving a well founded, respectful explanation of your views. While I disagree with them, your point of view is a valid one.

[@Darwinek]

Yeah, I couldn't help but hyperventilate throughout the whole video.

[@shatterquartz]

3:14 "Britain declines, believing its future still lies in its now-declining empire." Seventy years later, it still does.

[@shatterquartz]

@Alex Funk Quite the non sequitur. I'd like to know at what point Syrians and Afghans came in the conversation.

[@kleinweichkleinweich]

global Britain today: a red telephone box on the Falklands?

[@EM-cw9eh]

Not all of Britain. Us Scots still want to take our place in the EU. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇪🇺

[@lacasadipavlov]

@@EM-cw9eh how is the situation now? Is it really impossible for you to join the EU??

[@EM-cw9eh]

@@lacasadipavlov Unfortunately, it’s not likely we will rejoin the EU anytime soon. The only way for Scotland to rejoin the EU would be for it to first gain its independence from the UK. And, while I do believe it will happen eventually, there is no telling when that will happen. There is widespread support for EU membership in Scotland (over 70% I believe). However, support for independence is divided pretty much 50/50. Even if we were to secure a majority support for independence, the UK Governemnt is blocking the process by which we would make our decision (a referendum). This is despite the fact that Scotland has given a very clear mandate for a 2nd referendum on independence in 2021. We are pretty much deadlocked, the next U.K. General Election in 2024 will be important. But ultimately I don’t see it happening for at least 10 years.

[@gavinsmith9871]

If there is one thing to learn from human history it's that war is never impossible.

[@shaider1982]

War really does no change

[@zoltanercei1094]

@@shaider1982 well, Europe, as the continent with most important and influential nations in history, want to make war obsolete.. at least here in EU

[@hemidas]

@@shaider1982 What you're saying is War..war never changes.

[@Justin-rv7oy]

@@zoltanercei1094 the world does not revolve around Europe, there are bigger geopolitical concerns than you.

[@zoltanercei1094]

@@Justin-rv7oy Yes, the World is spining around Europe from 500 years, you not learn history or what ? Nop, there are no other more important concerns. Every country ,big, or small want something from Europe. .. until the WW2 was military and power, now is finance, culture, diplomacy ,influence and economic power.. Starting with USA, who want to be defender of Europe that way legitimizing his aggressive policy , ,continuing with Russia, who want to dominate EU above the americans, China want trade and economic leverage over USA, using the European huge markets.. etc Should continue with every country? Everybody want to sell in Europe, asking from something, diplomatic influence , technology, economy etc etc

[@jonathanmcalroy8640]

During an anti-Brexit march in 2019, I noticed a little girl walking behind her parents. On her back was a sign; “A product of the/a European Union”.

[@Marcus280898]

Did Spartacus drink a case of Red Bull before filming this? Lol, still a good video.

[@El_Presidente_5337]

He doesn't having wings yet but I think that he knows something we don't know. I thaught the video played at 1,25 speed.

[@Healermain15]

Maybe he's just happy to talk about something less depressing today?

[@El_Presidente_5337]

@@Healermain15 Would make sense considering that he makes the series War Against Humanity

[@Clapsk]

That's the pervitin talking

[@johndaubner973]

🤣

[@keithbohon2438]

I enjoyed the video, but the general vibe you gave off was like you were trying to film this video real quick before the Gestapo busted the door down to arrest you. But, I cant say much with my sentence structure looking like I ate the paint chips of my crib.

[@Raskolnikov70]

Not a fan of these either. It seems like they're trying to tinker with YT's algos or attract more people with shorter run-times by making them. A less frantic 10+ minute episode with more detail would be better.

[@angrylinecook]

Churchill: we look forward with confidence.... Johnson: Hold my beer...

[@ihmejakki2731]

Well, Churchill also viewed Europe and the UK as separate and didn't necessarily want to be part of the United States of Europe that he urged upon continental Europe

[@alphamikeomega5728]

@@ihmejakki2731 True, though Wikipedia says he opposed joining a federal grouping specifically. Whether today's EU, or the EEC of 1975, would have been decentralised enough for him is perhaps an open question. It's also worth noting that a lot of the Empire was intact before c.1960, while Churchill's comments on the ECSC were from 1950/51 (though he did live long enough to see the EEC and the Empire post-1960, so maybe someone can find some quotes showing his views on the EEC considering the UK's new reality?).

[@yiannimil1]

SO? why the bretexit? just another british ploy to recover and take charge again....

[@yiannimil1]

@captain crankypants you know what they say...hold on to your hat!

[@CoolMan-ig1ol]

@@ihmejakki2731 Churchill did not believe that UK/Ireland must be a part of any European affairs. He wanted an Europe to counter USSR and britain would do their splendid isolation thing, while having a complete economic integration(Through FTA) and military integration(through NATO).

[@PiscatorLager]

Well...

[@senrogas387]

…yeah

[@dominicguye8058]

The title of this video aged rapidly and in a very ugly way.

[@JensNyborg]

Impossible? Hah! Yet I am 55 and I have not seen, or worse killed by, an invading army in my lifetime. That's pretty good going considering our history around here.

[@JTA1961]

Valid point. ( I'm 60 & I see what you mean)

[@rosiehawtrey]

Hurry up and die before you're, I'm thinking 65, at the latest. '29-35 wall street world crisis, 39 panzerstoners roll. 19-23 cv19 (if we're lucky) and another war will be cued up, this time with added "Newcomer" and Uranium with Lithium Hydride seasoning... Oh, and Darth Donald is free for a second term but I don't recall if he has any Purple Hearts. What could possibly go wrong?

[@jimcronin2043]

The fact that the United States has been protecting you has something to do with that.

[@alaksandutheexorkizein7634]

@UChEpMfx_yHQRHd1tQXarHTA he's talking war between European nations, dumbass

[@thesweatleaf]

@@jimcronin2043 he's talking about war between European nations. EU member states equal about half of the power in NATO, so in many ways the EU has been protecting the US as well.

[@seleukos-5700]

at 2:41 there is a small mistake. The west german chancellor's name was Konrad Adenauer, not Karl.

[@dogphlap6749]

Perhaps war is not theoretically impossible but the amount of paper work involved would put even Adolf Hitler off the project.

[@jjeherrera]

You made my day! :-D This is what I posted elsewhere: The original idea of the EU was sound. However it has become a protectionist block marred by bureaucracy.

[@panzerofthelake506]

@@jjeherrera protectionist? It promotes free trade

[@brucetucker4847]

@@panzerofthelake506 Free trade within itself, protectionist against everyone else.

[@shawnr771]

You will need to fill out these forms in triplicate before you can even have a thought about going to war.

[@randomalien7746]

@@brucetucker4847 based eu

[@ErikHare]

I appreciate your efforts to Goose the KZbin algorithms by creating shorts simply by talking fast. But you still don't have any kittens in this video.

[@TheEvertw]

Great story! The union of the European Nations is probably the greatest political miracle of the modern age. It is very easy to break something apart, but to glue disparate nations together into an ever-stronger unity, is extremely difficult and demonstrates incredible wisdom and foresight on the side of those who initiated it.

[@TimeGhost]

Thank you for watching!

[@markotrieste]

I live in Trieste. I can still remember when you had to take special permit to cross the border with Yugoslavia. And you had two wallets, one for each currency. Today I jump across the border during my workouts. Long live the united Europe!

[@worstchoresmadesimple6259]

Well can you remember when Italy annexed Trieste? No. Let's face it, parts of Austria is in Italy. Europe is not a United Land.

[@markotrieste]

@@worstchoresmadesimple6259 Sorry I don't understand your point. I am not an Italian ethnically, so the less borders there are, the better I feel. Trieste has still strong ties with Austria and Slovenia. We can't change history, but we can build a better future.

[@vedranbileta8346]

I live in Pula/Pola. Long live EU!

[@kleinweichkleinweich]

when I look out of my window (in Germany) I can see Alsace and a 20 min drive takes me to the next Carrefour in France no need to go to war to go shopping long live the EU

[@michaelarighi5268]

@ 2:42, picture caption: The Chancellor of Germany in 1951 was "Konrad" Adenauer, not "Karl" Adenauer. I hate to admit to being old enough to remember him from my peripheral awareness of world events as a pre-teen/teenager (not in 1951, but he lasted as Chancellor until 1963).

[@thenoblepoptart]

Don’t hate to admit your wisdom, it seems it is in rare supply these days.

[@henrykeyter53]

"Only the dead has seen the end of war"

[@celticguy197531]

Plato

[@L.J.Kommer]

Plato wasn't really known for his optimism.

[@podemosurss8316]

Great video. Like with Germany, in the case of Spain our entry into the EU was a symbol of leaving away the dictatorial past: the dictatorship of Francisco Franco had ruled during four decades until the dictator died in 1975, and Spain transitioned to a democracy after Franco's death, having the first democratic elections after the civil war on 1977, and with a constitution drafted by 1978. Spain (which had a preferential trade agreement with the EEC) applied to join as a full member, and was admitted in 1986. Greetings from Spain.

[@TimeGhost]

Thank you for the added info about Spain, and thank you for watching.

[@sharkronical]

Churchill was like: Europe should unite. Not with us though

[@johnskitt5718]

Bravo, Sparty! Possibly your best work to date, wonderful oratory and enthusiasm!

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thank you - you're too kind, Personally I think I could have been a bit slower ;-)

[@johnskitt5718]

@@spartacus-olsson hindsight is a wonderful thing. In the moment you were close to perfection but of course there are always elements which could be candidates for improvement. Thanks for all you and the team do

[@naveenraj2008eee]

Hi Sparty Explained in short but easy to understand.. Need more of it.. Thanks..

[@dams6829]

Nice short video and I understood these videos are meant to be like shorts but I think Sparty talked a bit too quick that I needed to wind back a few times.

[@SylviaRustyFae]

Id suggest tryin 0.75x playback spd but rly thats just painfully slow. Wish KZbin let ya do it in like .10 intervals, as i bet youd not even notice his slowing down if you cud play it at 0.9x playback speed but youd def catch all the words.

[@Nikolay_Milenkov]

Yes more historical content on the EU. It is desperately needed!

[@Anonymous-qw]

Doesn't look like the EU has made a war in Europe impossible unfortunately.

[@Kaizen917]

Watching this video, I found it disturbing thinking that some people advocating for Brexit were going as far as seeing the EU institutions to be as dangerous as the Nazis. Its a less funny analogy to hearing a teenager describing their life as living hell if their amazon package delivery is running late. Its like we really fail to acknowledge what people went through a few generations ago.

[@CollectiveDefence]

Because people are morons that are too lazy to read about things themselves and come to conclusions, instead they want to be fed political hot headed nonsense through a straw. So many people are "against" it, yet they do not even know the basic foundations of the EU and how it works. Voter idiocy at its finest.

[@sapereaude5121]

What an amount of nonsense. Comparing critique or even advocation of the EU to such an analogy. We in our time in Europe and the entire West have equal if not more distressing matters at hand.

[@CollectiveDefence]

@Alex Funk Right. But what is your point exactly? What has it in common with the present EU? Provide specific examples, if you want to talk about legitimate issues you have with how the EU works.

[@hurri7720]

To make this more British centric would be impossible, but of course it all happened because Winston talked about it and for sure nobody else did.

[@colinmerritt7645]

This didn't age well at all.

[@asteroidmonger]

War never changes.

[@dyerex54]

In 1956 The 6 countries comprising the Coal and Steel Community issued a series of stamps with a common design. It showed a tower with the word Europa (the Latin word for Europe) written across the top. Postage stamps with Europa are still being produced till this day

[@Isometrix116]

So um… about that

[@jonaz7312]

Me, reading the title: "Well, i sure hope it does!"

[@georgewilliams8448]

Thank you for another informative video covering a very little covered time in history.

[@davidswift7776]

Thank you Spartacus 👍

[@TimeGhost]

Thanks David!

[@davidswift7776]

@@TimeGhost never miss your specials 👍 Cheers my friend 🍻

[@fullsalvo2483]

There will be no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter.

[@IudiciumInfernalum]

And only in death does duty end.

[@509Gman]

In the grim darkness of the far future…

[@georgf9279]

Put the video to 75% speed for normal Sparty speed. (Not meant to be condescending.)

[@stewartellinson8846]

The European Union: the greatest achievement of modern world history. Something that has been so succesful that people have forgotten why it was created.

[@Quickshot0]

Yeah, it has seen a lot of partial replication across the world. A way to advance each others situation with out having to fight over it.

[@noahkidd3359]

Go European federalism!!

[@persepolis4836]

Cheering for European federalism is cheering for cultural and ethnic genocide. Federalists seek to undermine and destroy united ethnic people’s and create a multiracial divided mass of “ Europeans “. It’s disgusting to see you cheer it on, the equivalent of modern day colonialism.

[@Quickshot0]

@@persepolis4836 That seems like a bit of an emotional response to the notion of Federalism, which is really just a way of governance. And in no way does a Federation have to do any of the things you suggest there and it doesn't even seem likely a hypothetical EU federation would or even could do either. This is due to for one it being unlikely the various states giving up quite that much of their autonomy in many local affairs. As well as the EU being directly bound by human rights, as in you can sue them on human rights in a human rights court and win and force them to change policy. Beyond that the EU is probably one of the largest supporters of separate ethnic identities with in its borders, many of the sub-states have historically after all homogenized their populations, so this policy is in stark contrast with the otherwise reality. So I understand your concerns, but I don't think it would be very fair to paint a hypothetical Federalist EU with the same brush as other more oppressive states from the past. Nothing in their structure or past make any of this seem likely. Far more likely would be that everything just continued as always, like most organizations tend to do. Whether the EU should be a Federation though, well that I don't actually know, it certainly isn't now though. But one could probably make a reasonable argument for some more cooperation between EU states in a few more specific areas and perhaps a few ways to make sure that nations that stop following the EU charter can be for instance ejected, as it seems unfair to make nations carry a free rider.

[@davidblair9877]

@@persepolis4836 by that logic, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom should each be monolithic, culturally homogenous blocs. Having lived in both Barcelona and Zürich, I can assure you that this is most definitely not the case. Even suggesting that these countries represent a single monolithic culture would draw scornful laughter from any citizen. Switzerland and Spain both speak four separate languages, for God’s sake! The argument that federal government = cultural homogeneity is demonstrably false for anyone who’s ever traveled.

[@NMahon]

The EU have just exported it to to the middle East and global south

[@JLAvey]

I would have said WWII made a general war in Europe unlikely. I don't say impossible since it requires all parties involved to have peace but only one to start a war. Given how destructive wars progressively grew they decided another world war would likely leave them all dead.

[@keesvandenbroek331]

What do you know: sir Winson Chuchill! Doesn't that make Boris Johnson's attempt to portray himself as a second Churchill a pathetic oxymoron?

[@SylviaRustyFae]

Answer: Nope.

[@leeham1405]

This video: NATO: Am I a joke to you?!?!

[@basichistory]

Cracking video

[@TimeGhost]

Thanks mate!

[@LewesMint]

The dialogue correctly credits Monnet (addressing the ECSC) with the quote "we can never sufficiently emphasize that the community countries are the forerunners of a broader united Europe, whose bounds are set only by those who have not yet joined". ... but the caption on the video incorrectly credits Schuman 9 May 1950. That is the date of the Schumann Declaration.

[@Ramzi1944]

At 3:07 that chancellor was the one who invented the soy sausage during ww1 right?

[@justin8894]

I’m subscribed but I don’t get notified.

[@fredaaron762]

If the goal of the EU and its forerunners was to end war amongst the key nations of Europe, then it has generally succeeded (with the exceptions of the Greco-Turkish conflict in Cypress and the Yugoslav civil war). While rivalries persist, the EU has provided a flawed yet functional framework for dispute resolution, especially with respect to economics. The issues that have arisen often deal mainly with how to address economic disparities between member states. I personally think the British made a big mistake when they decided against becoming a charter member to the nascent EU back in the early 50s. As a result, it had to pay a hefty price in order to join in the 70s when growing animosity between Britain and France led to Britain having to accept a position concomitant with the French regardless of relative economic size and strength. This is one of the reasons that led to the Brexit movement. As for an EU military, I'm not sure it makes much sense. NATO already exists, and most European states play a role in this organization. Like someone else said, this would make an excellent miniseries, maybe after WWII in Real Time is finished.

[@peterjerman7549]

Do not ever call the Yugoslav war a civil war.

[@fredaaron762]

@@peterjerman7549 no offense intended, but if it wasn't a civil war, then what was it?

[@peterjerman7549]

@@fredaaron762 a war between nations.

[@Quickshot0]

A fair comment on the EU, though one might argue that the EU always worked best on the nations it managed to get to join it. It's internal conflicts have always been far milder then the ones external to it. This is one imagines because many of the EU mechanisms only really work on its members, not so much on the non-members. Like settling of border disputes and other major issues that the EU has been running, though sadly imperfectly in a few cases like Cyprus. (Though arguably it some what learnt from that for future members)

[@stewartellinson8846]

@@peterjerman7549 It was a civil war because it broke out within a nation state. The idea that it was between nations is a convenient justification for violence pushed by those who advance their own self interest. Nations are never ethnically homogeneous and the language of some of the figures in the Yugoslav conflict who pushed the fiction of the ethnically homogeneous nation state goes straight back to the language of fascist Germany. It was a civil war whose inciters used existing intercommunal rivalries as a fig leaf.

[@rursus8354]

Of course not, isn't the question a little ridiculous? A "liberation" war in Europe would be quite possible by a nation or national minority feels oppressed by EU as a whole or by any state within EU.

[@paulcritz6217]

Had NO idea. Man, I dig TimeGhost!

[@TimeGhost]

Thank you, Paul!

[@MoveAhead101]

Can you maje a special about Konrad Adenauer, the inventor of the Soja-Saussage?

[@TimeGhost]

This would be an interesting special!

[@deadbeat2673]

lol

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

Did I mentioned that i love those sort vids?

[@chedelirio6984]

Interesting victor's paternalism in the way Winston put it: *you* in the continent, unify for recovery and peace. *We* in the Empire, the US and USSR will watch. Then again he held to the illusion that the Empire would survive.

[@welcometonebalia]

That was fast. Very fast. I'm exhausted. But thankful anyway.

[@bojankotur4613]

Holy crap, I haven't realised how big Algheria was until now :-)

[@FriedrichHerschel]

Mostly desert, though.

[@randomalien7746]

This question could make a very interesting 30 min mini-documentary.

[@gerberjoanne266]

The heading of this video is a bit of a misnomer. What we get is a brief history of the European Coal and Steel Community. But what does this have to do with making war impossible or not?

[@SylviaRustyFae]

The question itself was literally unaswerable back then. No amount of historical context, or any other kind of context for that matter, cudve answered definitively if the EU prevents war in Europe... No one cud answer that until it was given a definitive no answer after war broke out in Europe. Sayin yes it does prevent war in Europe bcuz it seems to have prevented it for so many years wudve been the wrong answer, but arguing that it doesnt prevent such when there hadnt yet been another war wudve just been assuming things wud occur and ignorin the possibility entirely bcuz it just seems farfetched to ever have an end to war anywhere. This video wasnt about definitively answerin the question; it was about giving the context to the arguments and explaining the reasons why such was believed.

[@namethatisnottakenyo]

This video has nothing to do with the video title. It's just a brief history summary about the foundation of the EU and of the vision at the time of foundation, the video doesn't even attempt to give any kind of answer to the title question or to analyze how that vision has been fulfilled in the 70 years since. Not what I've come to expect from Timeghost.

[@sirllamaiii9708]

Well to be fair it's pretty short, and it does briefly touch on how the EU will help postwar recovery and ensure cooperation

[@TimeGhost]

The video is about how politicians like Monnet and Schuman conceived European unity as a means to make war "not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible." So no, we're not going to answer the question for you but the title is honest to the material and the history itself.

[@namethatisnottakenyo]

@@TimeGhost I really don't want to be rude, but really? If it was titled "How and why the EU was founded" or something like that it would be far more accurate, but I guess it wouldn't get as many views then. The way the title is phrased now sets up very different expectations for the video. But thank you for the reply regardless.

[@mireillelebeau2513]

Tim Snyder, the historian, says that it is not to avoid another war that the EU was created (which is the myth Europeans told themselves.)but to replace the lost of the colonies by empires.

[@chedelirio6984]

It is part of it -- it starts as a common management of some key resources, because now none of the countries can count on its external subjects providing them. UK at the time felt that the remnant Empire and later Commonwealth would eremain a secure trade/alliances bloc keeping itself "independent" of the continent -- and were sort of able to sustain that into the 70s but eventually that could not last. Heck, France tried to itself establish a "French Community" with much less success, and has kept supporting client states for strategic supply purposes.

[@Nostripe361]

Find it funny that it took Almost a century and two massive wars for Europe to realize that people are far less antagonistic when you make deals and not constantly try to weaken each other and make competing alliances

[@davidblair9877]

I keep seeing cringe comments that “The E.U. erases national culture & history”…because imperialism means imposing the colonist’s culture on the colonized and the E.U. is imperial rather than federal. Or something. This is demonstrably false. Were this logic true, France, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom would each be monolithic, culturally homogenous blocs. Having lived in both Barcelona and Zürich, I can assure you that this is most definitely not the case. Even suggesting that these countries represent a single monolithic culture would draw scornful laughter from any citizen. Switzerland and Spain both speak four separate languages, for God’s sake! The argument that federal government = cultural hegemony is demonstrably false for anyone who’s ever traveled.

[@gogrape9716]

Churchill would not approve of Brexit.

[@Punisher9419]

Our economies are more intertwined these days then they ever have so it's not in anyones interest to go to war because it will damage their economy at the same time. Obviously if you leave the bloc it lessens the impact however our economies are still very much linked.

[@brucetucker4847]

The same argument was made in 1914. Didn't prevent the war.

[@martijn9568]

@@brucetucker4847 Same srguments, different realities by now.

[@keepitabuck2313]

@@martijn9568 not that different lol. And your strongest member just left.

[@edipires15]

@@keepitabuck2313 “strongest member “ is an overstatement, it was one of the biggest but the one with the least enthusiasm about the European project

[@keepitabuck2313]

@@edipires15 Dude... The UK have dominated Europe for 1000 years they are the strongest period, don't hate on them. Without German or France the EU nothing. The French tire of the EU from what I have heard.

[@AndrewSmithThomas]

Wish we'd had this to share on social media during the Brexit referendum.

[@kleinweichkleinweich]

don't mention the Brexit

[@CommissarMoody1]

Well we can always hope for a eternal peace, but history shows that is very hard to find and hold onto.

[@dominicguye8058]

This video's title aged rapidly and and in an ugly manner.

[@theholyinquisition389]

At 2:41 it says Karl Adenauer, when it should be Konrad Adenauer.

[@RomanHistoryFan476AD]

I think it is more to do with the fact that there is no power at the moment able to match that of the European/American alliance called NATO. And during the cold war the soviets did not fear the Europeans nation in a war it was the threat of nuclear destruction and having to fight the Americans along with Europe which kept them in check. The presence of nuclear weapons and many key such holders of these weapons being in Europe or got interests there is what makes war harder to do now in that region of the world. Europe has always had big empires, or alliances but it has never stopped war in the long term, most of the time it just lead to a bigger conflict when it happens. The problem with using the EU as proof peace can be kept is that the EU was formed while the nuclear deterrent was and is to this day still in play and Europe had an outside enemy to focus on. To really test it's peacekeeping ability we need to see Europe go through a real hard hitting crisis which is threatening to shift the scales of power in the region, or force countries to get more resources or something. Then we can tell.

[@narancauk]

''Bounds set by ones who have not yet joined''--------What about Sudetenland????

[@jliller]

"Postwar" by Tony Judt is a really informative read, especially for younger-to-middle age Americans like myself who have a very sparse knowledge of Cold War Era Europe because we didn't live through the events when they happened and in school the teacher always ran out of time at the end of the semester so didn't really get to cover much after WW2.

[@petereiso5415]

Mummy, why is this bad man hectoring me?

[@FlagAnthem]

1 word: Jugoslavia

[@tillman40]

The US should behave like Switzerland…free trade but practice noninterventionism

[@brucetucker4847]

And make massive profits laundering money stolen from Holocaust victims? Not much of a role model IMO.

[@eyeli160]

The reason why the economic policies of Switzerland work is because they have small population combined with a banking sector that stores a lot of old wealth and a big group of rich people. Because they are with so many you only have to tax them for a small amount to pay for all state expanses. If you apply this model to the US you suddenly have to find millions of billionaires and the US does not have old wealth like Europe has

[@tillman40]

@@brucetucker4847 it’s 2021. We have enemies from that era that are now allies

[@Roky1989]

I, for one, am absolutey positively glad to be living in the time of Pax Europea. I just don't want to imagine the prospect of me or my children being sent of to war or being massacred like some animals, just because some idiots can't get their shit together or because they think might makes right.

[@brucetucker4847]

You mean Pax Americana, of course.

[@FlagAnthem]

*Pax Atomica

[@floydvaughn836]

Alexander. Rome. Charlemagne. Napoleon. Hitler. I'm sure I've missed a few...

[@kazakhdoge1822]

Since your team already started channels about WW2 and Cold War, do you plan to work on world history after the dissolution of the Soviet Union as it's hitting its 30th anniversary? I mean it's definitely a lot to ask, but maybe there are plans to do it?

[@TimeGhost]

The Cold War channel actually has nothing to do with TimeGhost, though we can see how people get confused given how similar their format is. We are certainly considering a few chronological projects once WW2 is over though.

[@kazakhdoge1822]

@@TimeGhost Oh, sorry for the confusion! Anyways, thank you for your awesome content!

[@57WillysCJ]

A European Union on the idea of the USA is problematic. One they don't always have to agree and may dislike each other intensely as happens with most US states. The one advantage the US has though is there is not century old enmity between the states that pops up to cause problems. I doubt European countries especially those that had colonial interests in to the middle of the 20th century can make that change. They are all suffering from that Bruce Springsteen song Glory Days. They miss the "glory days of the empire." Even if those glory days are mythical, maybe more so because they are.

[@509Gman]

“there is not century old enmity between the states” Southern secession intensifies.

[@jernmajoren]

Considering that several EU members have been involved in fighting since its inception, the clear answer would be no. So far only continued US presence in European countries have prevented a major conflict. Without NATO and US military in European countries there would have been a major war in Europe already.

[@nkristianschmidt]

the Soviet Union made war between Russia and Chechnya/Georgia impossible. Yugoslavia made war between Serbia and Croatia impossible. A united China makes war between Chinese kingdoms impossible. A worldwide Caliphate would make international war impossible. A Nazi-German world Reich would make war between any two countries impossible. All systems of national oppression make international war impossible. But then we have civil wars and oppression to deal with. So the best system is likely one of thousands of small states. Small states make small wars and do not pursue nuclear, chemical nor biological weapons that can wipe us out ten times over. They also make it possible for people to vote with their feet instead of debating politics their whole life and changing nothing. They also make corruption difficult because small states will likely compete to attract inhabitants. So a big united government or a cartel of governments is likely the last thing individuals want. You get the Federation of American Teachers, national health care and that kind of nonsense.

[@nicholasconder4703]

Very interesting video, but you didn't really answer the question as to whether the EU makes war impossible.

[@nolanhitchens]

Playback speed set to 75% 😏

[@JenniferinIllinois]

Wait, was Sparty recorded at 2x speed? Hehehe...

[@thesweatleaf]

Amazing presentation, including 'just the facts'. You did a very good job on the foundation of the EU. As an American college student a few years back, it was great to learn how the EU came out of Europe's ashes as, in a way, sort of an extension of the Marshall plan to rebuild Europe without allowing antagonistic countries to rearm. Overall, it seems to fit very much into the framework of the US's "export of the New Deal" in the fallout of WW2, as part of the rebuilding effort to prevent WW3.

[@nade8721]

This is a rather American view of the creation of the EU. On the contrary, it can be seen as an effort to escape from the American influence brought about by the Marshall Plan and NATO. It should not be forgotten that the fear of a new war in Europe came from the possibility of being caught up in a war between the USA and the USSR. Also, the US has always pressured the European Union not to go beyond the stage of economic cooperation. For example, by using NATO or bilateral arms agreements to sabotage any initiative for European military organisation. The US treats its allies as vassals, not partners, and has no interest in the development of an independent European Union.

[@BlueStef17]

You're 100% right. EU is an american job. Well done from you.

[@thesweatleaf]

@Alex Funk I think this kind of hatred for peace and democracy is the reason the EU was formed. European Union member state democracies are quite stable and are the envy of the world, due to efforts to keep elections open and polls accessible.

[@neilgriffiths6427]

@@thesweatleaf After living in the EU for 40 years, all I can say is that I'm very glad that we were on one of the last boats allowed to leave. Envy of the world my back-side.

[@davidpeters6536]

You have to read between the lines. Nothing much had been settled with the remaining European states other than German downsizing at the end of WWII. Churchill wanted a sustainable peace but not an undemocratic United States of Europe and he didn't see the British Empire (Commonwealth) involved that much (read his carefully chosen words). Since the rewrite of the constitution into the Lisbon Treaty the EU has moved away from the ideals of peace and cooperation to expansionism into an isolationist bureaucratic dictatorship.When the EU gets its own army war will not be far behind.

[@edipires15]

“Isolationist bureaucratic dictatorship” boy I love Eurosceptics, they come up with the wildest over exaggerated things about the EU out of thin air

[@guido9861]

A cool video, but does it warrend its title?

[@DougguoD]

🤔 Kinda ironic that England (under Winston Churchill) was the initial force to create some sort of European Union 🤔

[@General_Cartman_Lee]

You get normal Sparty at 0.75 replay speed. 😎

[@More_Row]

Of course not

[@Dendarang]

I don't know if the EU is as surprising as people often say it is after the world wars. If you look at the history of Europe as a whole, I would say that the 19th and 20th century extreme nationalism and inter-European hatreds are a lot more of an aberration than "United States of Europe" would be. There have been at least four pan-European identities, the Roman one, the Frankish one (up until the 18th century Muslims called all Europeans "Franks" and Europe as "Frankistan"), the Christian world one helped in large part by medieval Catholic chuch being a pan-national organization operating from Portugal to Estonia, and, from around the 18th century, a common European one. The idea that all peoples of Europe are one family isn't that new or that surprising

[@alexeysaphonov232]

It is important to not turn the idea of the United States of Europe into the Sovjet of sovjet european republics.

[@seriousGeex]

shouldn't it be "Konrad Adenauer" at 2:41?

[@tijmenwillard2337]

So the answer is yes?

[@nolanhitchens]

But what's the answer to the question posed in the video title? 🤔

[@dragosstanciu9866]

The answer is whatever you think it is, even if you could be wrong.

[@brucetucker4847]

No. War is always possible.

[@TimeGhost]

Well we don't want to answer the question for you. The video is about how politicians like Monnet and Schuman conceived European unity as a means to make war "not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible." We're giving you that information, with the question of the title expressed inherently within it. What do you think after learning it?

[@aaron6178]

I think your shorts are too short my guys. 10 mins maybe? I'm concerned Sparty will talk so fast he'll create a singularity or something.

[@Wanup_Vodka]

It makes small frequent wars less likely, but makes a big war when the whole thing collapses more likely.

[@theamici]

No, just no, it doesn't. Even if "the whole thing collapses", that would be a very slow and difficult process. And the world has not forgot what "big war" means. I think the world is past "big wars". The last war that might be considered a "big war" was the Iran-Iraq war, and possibly the great African conflicts in the 90s, such as the Rwandan genocide. But even those wars were relatively small, and the size of wars, in number of causalties and number of armed combatants has just continued to decrease ever since WW2. The wars in Korea, Vietnam etc. saw the gradual decline of large wars. Today we either have border skirmishes, minor interventions or civil wars. The civil wars tend to be the largest, but even here they tend to be small compared to before.

[@ivarkich1543]

You should invite Paul Barbato - "Geography Now!" guy as a narrator since he is the fastest speaking vloger in KZbin.

[@aicram62]

You didn't give enough information to even ponder the question proposed on the title.

[@SylviaRustyFae]

The question itself was unanswerable anf the vid gave a brief (some may say short even; timeghost shorts) historical context for such a question and explained the reasons that some beleive that the EU prevents war (at least between its member states). Like, not every video with a question in the title is gonna give the answer to that question; a lot of times the answer is unknowable, but they can at least give the reasons for the question

[@eruno_]

🇪🇺🇪🇺🇪🇺

[@demon2441]

No. The EU has brought much positive benefits to the lives of the people living within its member states. However, it is still deeply flawed and attempting to force that integration will lead to greater fracturing. Greece, Italy, Turkey, and a few of the baltic nations are likely to be the root, although the potential for fracturing can come from anywhere.

[@th3freakie]

Hurrah for the European Founding Fathers! Hurrah!

[@madjackblack5892]

It hasn't so far.