War on the European continent is the rule, rather than the exception. From the Visigoths and Charlemagne to the Second World War and Kosovo, this corner of the world has endured a near-constant state of fighting. Not for nothing is the ‘list of conflicts in Europe‘ Wikipedia page several hundred scrolls long.
This is not to suggest the Steven Pinker theory of the world – that humans living today enjoy the most peaceful era in our species’ history – is necessarily wrong. But recency bias can breed complacency.
