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The notion of empire took shape in Europe by way of a complex history, stemming from the break-up of the Roman Empire, through to the Germanic Holy Roman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire to that of the czars. Empires can promote peace by internalizing conflicts, but they can also be factors of war, as in the twentieth century. Their dissolution often leads to instability, but their pre-national mode of operation can also help to envisage the post-national.