Pax Americana (Latin for "American Peace", modeled after
Pax Britannica and
Pax Romana) is a term applied to the concept of relative
peace in the
Western Hemisphere and later the world as a result of the preponderance of power enjoyed by the
United States beginning around the middle of the 20th century and continuing to this day. Although the term finds its primary utility in the latter half of the 20th century, it has been used with different meanings and eras, such as the post-
Civil War era in
North America, and regionally in the Americas at the start of the 20th century.