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Western Europe
*** Shopping-Tip: Western Europe
Image:Europe-western-countries.png thumb|right|264px|A common understanding of Western Europe in modern times.
Image:EiserneVorhang.png Cold War.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|264px|Western Europe was largely defined by the [[Cold War, with the "
Iron Curtain" separating it from
Eastern Europe (
Warsaw Pact countries).
Turkey – as a member of
NATO – is included but, otherwise, is generally excluded due to sociopolitical differences with other NATO members..html" title="Meaning of right|264px|Western Europe was largely defined by the [[Cold War">thumb|right|264px|Western Europe was largely defined by the [[Cold War, with the "
Iron Curtain" separating it from
Eastern Europe (
Warsaw Pact countries).
Turkey – as a member of
NATO – is included but, otherwise, is generally excluded due to sociopolitical differences with other NATO members.">right|264px|Western Europe was largely defined by the [[Cold War">thumb|right|264px|Western Europe was largely defined by the [[Cold War, with the "
Iron Curtain" separating it from
Eastern Europe (
Warsaw Pact countries).
Turkey – as a member of
NATO – is included but, otherwise, is generally excluded due to sociopolitical differences with other NATO members.
'''Western Europe''' is mainly a cultural/political concept
coined, forged and used during the
Cold War. It largely means the
European countries of the
First World. It was, and still is to a lesser extent, distinguished from
Eastern Europe by differences of
economics,
politics,
culture and
religion rather than by clear
geography. These boundaries are subject to considerable overlap and – most importantly – historical fluctuation, which makes an easy understanding somewhat difficult.
Today, the term ''Western Europe'' has less to do with geography and more to do with politics. The concept is also commonly associated with
liberal democracy,
capitalism and also with the
European Union. Most of the countries in the region share some historical, economic, and political ties with the
United States of America and
Canada in
North America. Although,
Scandinavia (North-Western Europe) is commonly associated with
Social democracy and remains fairly neutral throughout international disputes.
Alternatively, '''Western Europe''' is also a geographic
subregion of Europe that is far more restrictive than traditional political reckonings; as defined by the
United Nations, it is comprised of the following nine countries:
{{col-begin|width=}}
{{col-break}}
*
Austria
*
Belgium
*
France
*
Germany
*
Liechtenstein
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*
Luxembourg
*
Monaco
*
The Netherlands
*
Switzerland
{{col-end}}
Europe carefully divided until the Cold War
The history of Europe is mainly a history of warfare and politics. It is the history of politics on a greater scale and therefore subject to misinterpretation and different points of view. One has to be careful in order not to exaggerate. To simply '''simplify''' it, is dangerous, for there were always exceptions to all rules and even more in the case of history. Despite all that, some lessons can be learned from it.
Many times a '''major power''' would appear in Europe through dynastic marriage or military conquest, like the Empire of
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V who was Holy Roman Emperor, King of
Spain and ruler of the Burgundian territories, France under
Louis XIV, the Austrian Empire of the
Habsburgs, and the
First French Empire of
Napoleon, etc.
As this major power threatened the other countries, these would ally amongst themselves and react against the greater threat. Almost everybody supported the collapse of the '''major power''' into several smaller states, as no-one was really interested that it gained too much political and military strength. Every time the '''major power''' showed a sign of weakness it would attacked. Every time the '''major power''' tried to expand its territory it would be opposed. It was also a fact, that no-one wanted the complete conquest of any major country by another one, for this would upset the balance of power and potentially create a ''new'' '''major power'''.
Good examples for this are: the
War of the Spanish Succession in which almost everybody fought against Louis XIV in fear of a French
hegemony. The
War of the Austrian Succession in which several states attacked a weakened Austria. The
Napoleonic Wars in which the First French Empire of Napoleon was opposed by all the other European nations.
Therefore, Europe had always been carefully divided until the
20th century. In the early 20th century however, two main alliances appeared on the political stage: the
Central Powers and the
Triple Entente. In
1914 the world was engulfed by the first modern industrial war:
World War I which would lead to a radical change of the political map of Europe.
The Triple Entente also known as the Allied Powers (led by British Empire, France, and later, the United States) defeated the
Central Powers (led by Germany, Austria and the Ottoman Empire). The countries who lost that conflict, the
German Empire, the
Austria-Hungary Austrian-Hungarian Empire and the
Ottoman Empire also lost their monarchic dynasties, who were forced to abdicate all their remaining political power and sent into exile. Their countries changed their political systems into republics and were forced to accept the political unsound
Treaty of Versailles. The
Russian Empire had declared war upon Austria at the beginning of the World War I but with the
Bolshevik revolution lead by
Lenin it had made a peace agreement with the Central Powers.
The treaty of Versailles imposed upon the losers the responsibility of the conflict, the loss of territories and the payments of huge
reparations. All this outraged the people and most importantly undermined the acceptance of the new regimes. This was easily used by
Adolf Hitler in his climb to power. In many of his speeches he denounced the ''Diktat von Versailles'' - "the dictate of Versailles".
All this would lead towards
World War II
The Cold War divides Europe into the Eastern/Western blocs
During the final stages of WWII the future of the whole of Europe had been decided between the
Allies in the
Yalta Conference, between the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Winston Churchill, the President of the
USA Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and the Premier of the
Soviet Union Joseph Stalin. '''Post-war Europe''' would be divided into two major spheres: the ''
western bloc'' mainly influenced by the USA, and the ''eastern/
communist bloc'' dominated by the Soviet Union. With the onset of the
Cold War, Europe was divided by the
Iron Curtain, a name popularized by a speech of Winston Churchill. Some countries were officially politically
Neutral country neutral, but they were classified by the nature of their political and economical systems.
Eastern Europe
'''Eastern Europe''' was basically composed by all the countries liberated by the Soviet armies from German occupation, joined by
German Democratic Republic (informaly known as '''East Germany''') formed in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany. By order of Stalin, all these countries received Communist regimes. Although these regimes were officially independent from the Soviet Union, the practical extent of this independence was limited. Yugoslavia and Albania, communist countries which were fiercely independent towards the Soviet Union also belonged to the ''eastern/communist bloc''.
*Most of these countries were members of the military
Warsaw pact and its economical twin
COMECON. First and foremost was the Soviet Union (which at that time included
Latvia,
Estonia,
Lithuania and
Ukraine, etc). Other countries dominated by the Soviet Union were the German Democratic Republic,
Poland,
Czechoslovakia,
Hungary,
Bulgaria and
Romania.
*The
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (formed after WWII and before its dismemberment in 1992) was not part of the
Warsaw Pact. In fact it was strongly independent towards the Soviet Union. Despite of it all, it was regarded part of the ''eastern/communist bloc''.
*
Albania, a country who was fiercely independent towards the Soviet Union and even allied itself with China. Despite that, it had a communist regime and was considered part of the ''eastern/communist bloc''.
Western Europe
'''Western Europe''' was basically composed by the European Victors of WWII, all the countries liberated by the ''Western Allies'' from German occupation, joined by
Italy a former
Axis Power who had surrendered and been occupied by the ''Western Allies'' and the
West Germany Federal Republic of Germany (informaly known as '''West Germany''') formed by the three parts of Germany who were occupied by the same ''Western Allies'' (USA, UK and France).
Other countries would also became increasingly part of ''Western Europe''. They were also part of
Nato and/or joined the European Union or its rival the
European Free Trade Association.
Almost all the countries of ''Western Europe'' received economical assistance from the United States through the
Marshall Plan.
In more detail:
*
United Kingdom and
France, Victors of
World War II.
*
Netherlands,
Belgium and
Luxemburg, countries who had been occupied by Nazi Germany and subsequently liberated by the ''Western allies''.
*The
West Germany Federal Republic of Germany, which had been formed by the three parts of Germany who were occupied by the ''Western Allies'' (USA, UK and France).
*
Italy which also had been part of the
Axis Powers and who had been occupied to the ''Western Allies''.
*The
Republic of Ireland gained its independence in the
1920s from the United Kingdom. It never joined Nato but it joined the European Union in the late
1970s. It is regarded as part of ''Western Europe''.
*Countries who were under the rules of dictators,
Portugal,
Spain, and
Greece became parliamentarian democracies in the late
1970s. The first two are situated in the geographic south-west of Europe, while the last one is located in the south-east of it. All of them joined Nato and also the European Union.
*The
Nordic countries were a strange case.
Denmark and
Norway had been conquered by Nazi Germany.
Sweden had been neutral, while
Finland had been an ally of the Axis Powers against the Soviet Union, it had been defeated but never conquered. The peace treaty between Finland and the Soviet Union stipulated that Finland would surrender some of its territory, that it would not join NATO and that Finland would have friendly relations with Soviet Union. Nevertheless, all these Nordic countries usually are considered part of ''Western Europe''.
*
Austria and
Switzerland are also a case apart. Austria had been incorporated into Nazi Germany through the
Anschluss, while Switzerland had always remained neutral. After the WWII both of them remained neutral, in the case of Austria through the
Austrian State Treaty. Austria later joined the European Union but not Nato. Switzerland declined membership of NATO and the European Union and joined EFTA instead. Nevertheless both of these countries are considered part of ''Western Europe''.
*The island-states of
Iceland,
Malta and
Cyprus are generally considered part of ''Western Europe'', but most of the time they are simply ignored.
*The European
micronations of
Vatican City,
San Marino,
Monaco,
Andorra and
Liechtenstein are considered part of ''Western Europe'' but they too are mainly overlooked. Many of these states have special agreements and treaties with the European Union.
*The legal status of many of the
Overseas territories in Europe (
Gibraltar,
Channel Islands,
Faroe Islands etc) are peculiar and vary from case to case. Despite all that, they are also part of ''Western Europe''.
Turkey
*
Turkey, as a member of Nato was accepted as belonging to the Western bloc. Nevertheless it never became a part of the European Union. Within public opinion, Turkey is considered more of a
Mediterranean Sea Mediterranean or
Anatolia Anatolian country rather than a "Western European" one.
Recent political developments and modern Western Europe
The world changed dramatically with the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. The Federal Republic of Germany peacefully absorbed the Democratic Republic of Germany leading to the
German reunification. The eastern countries dissolved Comecon and the Warsaw Pact. Others eastern countries regained their full independence from the Soviet Union: Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine, etc. Many of them joined NATO and some were admitted as members of the European Union.
Until the
enlargement of the European Union of
2004, ''Western Europe'' was strongly associated with it, although non-members such as
Iceland,
Norway and
Switzerland were included as well.
The term
Central Europe has started to reappear. For example, Germany is now reunited and thus calling it either western or eastern european would be tecnically inaccurate.
In theory, the term ''Western Europe'' which is largely a construct of the Cold War, should be simply out-dated and negligible. In reality, many citizens of the countries belonging to old ''Western Europe'' feel themselves and their respective countries superior towards the eastern countries due to feelings of
nostalgia. The media also continues to use the term ''Western Europe''.
It is generally understood that the term ''
Old Europe'' coined by
Donald Rumsfeld means ''Old Western Europe''. He clearly meant the old eastern European countries by the term: ''
New Europe''. If the UK should also be included in ''Old Europe'' is debatable.
Additionally, French President
Jacques Chirac was quoted as telling eastern European nations that expressed support for the US in the
Iraq War, that they "missed an opportunity to keep quiet" and were "not very well-mannered and a little careless of the dangers which come with a too-rapid alignment with the American position". The east/west division still exists, even if in a lesser strength and different guise, and by far not as prevalent as during the Cold War.
A current understanding of ''Western Europe'' includes the following countries:
*the
United Kingdom
*the
Republic of Ireland
*the
Benelux countries:
Belgium,
Luxembourg, and the
Netherlands
*
France and
Monaco
*
Germany
*
Switzerland
*
Austria
*the
Italian peninsula:
Italy,
San Marino, and
Vatican City
*the
Iberian peninsula:
Spain,
Portugal,
Andorra, and
Gibraltar (a British Oversea Territory)
*the
Nordic countries:
Denmark,
Finland,
Iceland,
Norway, and
Sweden
*
Greece
*
Malta
*
Cyprus
See also
*
Western European Union
*
Western world
*
First World
*
New Europe
*
Old Europe
*
Marshall Plan
References
*Bader, William B. "The Future of Area Studies: Western Europe." ''Society'' 22 (May-June 1985): 6-8. EJ 317 736.
*Baker, John A. "The North Atlantic Treaty Organization at 40." ''Social Education'' 53 (February 1989): 109-112. EJ 386 460.
*Bruce, Michael G. "Teaching For and About Europe." ''Phi Delta Kappan'' 65 (January 1984): 364-66. EJ 291 519.
*Bruce, Michael G. "Europe in European Curricula." ''Phi Delta Kappan'' 68 (March 1987): 551-52. EJ 349 197.
*Daltrop, Anne. ''Politics and the European Community''. 2nd edition. New York: Longman, 1986.
*DePorte, Anton W. ''The Atlantic Alliance at 35''. New York: Foreign Policy Association, 1984. ED 270 372.
*Gagnon, Paul. ''Democracy's Untold Story: What World History Textbooks Neglect''. Washington, DC: American Federation of Teachers, 1987. ED 313 268.
*Hallstein, Walter. ''Europe in the Making''. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1972.
*Metcalf, Fay, and Catherine Edwards. ''Materials for Teaching about Europe: An annotated Bibliography for Educators''. Washington, DC: Atlantic Council of the United States, 1986. ED 272 439.
*Schuchart, Kelvin. "The European Economic Community." ''Social Studies'' 77 (January-February 1986): 19-22. EJ 335 130.
*Shennan, Margaret. "Goals for Teaching About Europe." ''The Social Studies'' 77 (January-February 1986): 8-12. EJ 335 127.
*Stillwell, Neil C. ''Teaching about Western Europe: A Resource Guide''. Bloomington, IN: ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education, 1988. ED 302 494.
*The Making of Europe ISBN 0-14-015409-4, by Robert Bartlett
*Crescent and Cross ISBN 1-84212-753-5, by Hugh Bicheno
*The Normans ISBN 0-7524-2881-0, by Trevor Rowley
*1066 The Year of the Three Battles ISBN 0-7126-6672-9, by Frank McLynn
External links
-
Teaching about Western Europe
Category:Western Europe
{{Region}}
bg:Западна Европа
ca:Europa Occidental
cs:Západnà Evropa
da:Vesteuropa
de:Westeuropa
es:Europa Occidental
fr:Europe de l'Ouest
ko:ì„œìœ ëŸ½
hr:Zapadna Europa
is:Vestur-Evrópa
he:מערב ×?ירופה
ka:დ�ს�ვლეთი ევრ�პ�
lt:Vakarų Europa
hu:Nyugat-Európa
nl:West-Europa
ja:西ヨーãƒãƒƒãƒ‘
no:Vest-Europa
pl:Europa Zachodnia
pt:Europa Ocidental
ro:Europa de Vest
ru:ЗападнаÑ? Европа
sl:Zahodna Evropa
sv:Västeuropa
zh:西欧
Category:Regions of Europe
ja:Category:西欧
ru:Category:ЗападнаÑ? Европа
see
Western Europe
{| class="toccolours" style="clear: both; margin: 0 2em; text-align: center;"
|-
! bgcolor="#ccccff" | Nations in
Western Europe
|-
| style="font-size: 95%;" |
Belgium .html">France
_Republic of Ireland|Ireland|
Luxembourg .html">Monaco
_Netherlands |
United Kingdom
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