The nearly complete destruction of the continental European economies by World War II seriously endangered the stability of Europe’s social and political institutions. Europe’s leaders knew that to rebuild from the ruins, it was essential to form new kinds of international institutions to ensure prosperity, stability, and peace in the region. The first of these institutions was the European Coal and Steel Community, established in 1952 to integrate the coal and steel industries of France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Fifty years later, based on the success of this first small experiment in economic interdependence, we now see the European Union with 27 member nations and 3 candidate countries set to join during the next few years. The economies have burgeoned, but more important, peace has persisted.