Peace is the most essential product of nation-building. Without peace, neither economic growth nor democratization is possible. The authors of Europe's Role in Nation-Building investigate the use of armed force as part of broader nation-building efforts led by European powers and its success at achieving the objective of transforming a society emerging from conflict into one at peace with itself and its neighbors. They then evaluate Europe's performance against the U.S. and United Nations records in past nation-building operations.