In 2012, the Nobel Prize Committee awarded the European Union what is, perhaps, its most coveted honor: the Nobel Peace Prize. The committee’s choice drew some scathing attacks from critics within the EU itself. Mostly from those with axes to grind, politicians whose constituencies had been affected by the worst financial/economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s and the usual harbingers of doom who are always predicting the disintegration and demise of that multinational compact. But seen within the context of the seven decades of the post-war era, it seems at least disingenuous to express disdain, let alone condemnation, for the Nobel Committee’s pick, since the EU’s role in maintaining peace in Europe following two devastating world wars simply cannot be overstated. The EU won the Nobel for what it has undeniably provided: “the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.” Even more importantly, it won the world’s top peace prize
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Author Roberto Vivo comments on wars past and present, on the world’s great peacemakers and on the pathway to global peace. His basic philosophy: In a world where 9 out of every 10 victims of armed conflict are civilians, war is no longer a viable political alternative. Indeed, it is the ultimate crime against humanity. If rising generations are to have a future, the key will lie in world peace. War is the pathway to oblivion.