European Century

The European Century is a term, which was first used by Mark Leonard in his book "Why Europe Will Run the 21st Century" (published in the United States under the title "Perpetual Power: Why Europe Will Run the 21st Century") and is used to describe the belief that the 21st century will become a century in which the current European way of doing things will become dominant in the world. The European integration process which culminated in the European Union is highlighted.

The next century is depicted by Leonard as a century in which most of the world copies the current European way of functioning, such as obeying international law, promoting democratic values, multilateralism and humanitarian interventions. This new world order could usher in a time of global peace, wealth and democracy. To a large extent this view resembles Idealism in international relations theory.

The term is used in contrast to the 20th century, which is sometimes called the "American Century", and which is often assumed to have been dominated by power politics (which resembles Realism in international relations).

References

* Leonard, M., " [http://www.theglobalist.com/DBWeb/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=4464 The Project for a New European Century] ".

ee also

*"The End of History and the Last Man", written by Francis Fukuyama (1992)
*"The European Dream", written by Jeremy Rifkin (2004)
*"Why Europe Will Run the 21st Century", written by Mark Leonard (2005)