[hollerith]

>wasn't the kind of animosity displayed as for centuries between France and England or France and Germany

The Balkans are mountainous. (In fact, "Balkans" was the name of a mountain range before it was the name of a region.)

France, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Ukraine and Russia (among other countries) in contrast lie on a large plain called the European plain, which makes invasions easier, so the governments there had to pay attention to military matters more. As an exception to this general rule, between 1945 and 1989 the world's 2 superpowers took a keen interest in Europe and one expression of this interest was to promise to come to the aid of their "side" of Europe is any country on their "side" was attacked, to which the countries of Europe responded by focusing on things other than military matters, which is a sign that the Europeans are not naturally warlike, but rather responding to incentives imposed by geography.