The Soviet Union did not dissolve into violence, as most other empires have – an outcome for which no explanation short of divine intervention or sheer luck seems to suffice. Despite rising nationalist sentiments and mutual suspicions, Central and Eastern European countries also managed to avoid conflict, thanks to their rapid acceptance into NATO and the European Union.
幸运的是，并非所有的潜在冲突都爆发了。苏联的解体并没有像大部分帝国那样带来乱战——对于这样的结果，似乎也只有命运之神眷顾可以解释。尽管民族主义情绪渐浓、互相怀疑之风日盛，中东欧国家也设法避免了冲突，这主要是因为它们很快地被北约和欧盟接受了。