Western Europe

From The UCSC Wikipedia Trust Project

A common post-WWII understanding of Western Europe

Western Europe in its most common understanding is a socio-political concept coined and used during the Cold War. Its boundaries were effectively forged during the final stages of World War II and came to encompass all European countries which were not occupied by the Soviet army and subsequently did not fall under control of communist regimes. Western Europe was, and still is to a lesser extent, distinguished from Eastern Europe by differences of politics and economics rather than by clear geography. Boundaries between socio-politically defined regions are subject to considerable overlap and – most importantly – historical fluctuation, which makes an easy understanding somewhat difficult.

Today, the term Western Europe has even less to do with Cold War politics and geography and more to do with economics. The concept is also commonly associated, but not clearly delimited, with liberal democracy, capitalism and also with the European Union. Most of the countries in the region share Western culture, and many have economic, and political ties with countries in North and South America and Oceania.

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 (the sub-regions according to the UN), it comprises the following nine countries:

Regions of Europe as delineated by the United Nations (UN definition of Western Europe marked light blue): Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend

1 Earlier history
2 The Cold War divides Europe into the Eastern/Western blocs
- 2.1 Eastern Europe
- 2.2 Western Europe
3 Recent political developments and modern Western Europe
- 3.1 Turkey
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

Earlier history

The earliest known distinctions between east and west in Europe originate in the history of the Roman Empire. As the empire grew and conquered new lands it became culturally divided between the urbanized Greek-speaking eastern lands which had been part of the Macedonian Empire, and the more primitive western lands which adopted Latin as their common language. This cultural divide eventually led to a political east-west divide in the empire. The fall of the Western Empire, the rise of the Frankish Empire, and the Great Schism in the Christian Church all perpetuated and enhanced the cultural separation between Eastern and Western Europe. These divisions, particularly the division in the Church, formed the basis (albeit mostly unofficially) for defining East and West in the European context until the 19th century.

The conquest of the Eastern Roman Empire, the center of Eastern Orthodoxy, by the Muslim Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, and the gradual fragmentation of the Holy Roman Empire (what the Frankish Empire became in later centuries) led to the erosion of the importance of Roman Catholic/Protestant vs. Eastern Orthodox divisions in Europe. With the rise of global imperialism, particularly as the European powers spread their influence to Asia, and the later rise of the United States, Japan, and other non-European nations to international prominence, the concepts of East and West in general changed.

In the early 20th century, two main alliances were present on the political stage in Europe: the Central Powers and the Triple Entente. In 1914 these power blocs sparked off World War I. The Triple Entente, also known as the Allied Powers (the British Empire, France, Italy joined later by the USA, while the Russian Empire retreated from it in 1918), defeated the Central Powers (led by Germany, Austria and the Ottoman Empire). The three leading members of the central powers also lost their monarchic dynasties, which were forced to abdicate and sent into exile. The political systems of these countries were transformed into republics and they were forced to accept the Treaty of Versailles. The former Russian Empire (now Soviet Russia) made a separate peace with the Central Powers through the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

The treaty of Versailles imposed responsibility for the conflict onto the losing side, which entailed the loss of territories and the payments of huge reparations. This led to outrage among many people and undermined the acceptance of the new post-war regimes. The widespread dissatisfaction was used by Adolf Hitler in his climb to power. For example, in many of his speeches he denounced the Diktat von Versailles - "the dictate of Versailles". This was one of the major factors leading to World War II.

The Cold War divides Europe into the Eastern/Western blocs

Western Europe (blue and light grey) was largely defined by the Cold War, with the "Iron Curtain" separating it from the Warsaw Pact countries (red).

During the final stages of WWII the future of the whole of Europe had been decided between the Allies in the 1945 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 "West" mainly influenced by the USA, and the Eastern 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, but they were classified according to the nature of their political and economical systems.

Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe was basically composed of all the countries occupied by Soviet armies in the wake of liberation from German occupation or Fascist regimes. These were joined by the German Democratic Republic (informally known as East Germany) formed by the Soviet occupation zone of Germany. By order of Stalin, all these countries were forcibly formed into communist regimes. Although they were officially independent from the Soviet Union, the practical extent of this independence was quite limited. Yugoslavia and Albania, communist countries which were fiercely independent with regard to the Soviet Union were also considered to be a part of 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 also controlled Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). 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. It was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement, an organization created in an attempt to avoid being assigned to any bloc. It was demonstratively independent from the Soviet Union for most of the cold war period, despite being a communist regime, but because of its political system it was still regarded part of the Eastern/communist bloc.

Albania was fiercely independent towards the Soviet Union and preferred to ally itself with China. Despite this, it had a communist regime and thus was considered part of the Eastern/communist bloc.

Western Europe

Western Europe was basically composed by all the countries liberated by the Western Allies (USA, Canada, UK, France, etc) from German occupation, the European western allies themselves, plus Italy (a former Axis Power who had surrendered and been occupied by the Western Allies) and the Federal Republic of Germany (informally known as West Germany) formed by the three occupation zones of Germany (of the USA, UK, and France).

Other countries would also became increasingly part of Western Europe. They joined 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.

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. COMECON and the Warsaw Pact were dissolved. In 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist.

As the ideological division of the Cold War has now disappeared, the cultural division of Europe between Western Christianity, on the one hand, and Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Islam, on the other, has reemerged. It follows the so-called Huntington line of "clashing civilizations" corresponding roughly to the eastern boundary of Western Christianity in the year 1500. This line runs along what are now the eastern boundaries separating Norway, Finland, Estonia and Latvia from Russia, continues east of Lithuania, cuts in northwestern Ukraine, swings westward separating Transylvania from the rest of Romania, and then along the line now separating Slovenia and Croatia from the rest of ex-Yugoslavia. In the Balkans this line coincides with the historic border between the Hungarian Kingdom (later Habsburg) and Ottoman empires, whereas in the north it marks the then eastern boundaries of Kingdom of Sweden and Teutonic Order, and the subsequent spread of Lutheran Reformation. The peoples to the west and north of the Huntington line are Protestant or Catholic; they shared most of the common experiences of Western European history -- feudalism, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution.

The 1995 and 2004 enlargements arguably brought the European Union's eastern border up to the boundary between Western and Eastern Orthodox civilizations. Most of Europe's historically Protestant and Roman Catholic countries (with the exception of Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Croatia, and the various European microstates) were now EU members, while most of Europe's historically Eastern Orthodox countries (with the exception of Greece and Cyprus) were outside the EU. This was, however, temporary, as the 2007 accession of Bulgaria and Romania, both predominantly Eastern Orthodox and located in Southeastern Europe, shifted the EU's borders further east to reach the west coast of the Black Sea.

A view that Europe is divided strictly into the West and the East is considered patronising or pejorative by many in the nominally eastern countries. For example, inhabitants of Estonia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic or Slovenia note that countries in more "eastern" locations and with more "eastern" history as parts of Imperial Russia (Finland) or Eastern Orthodoxy (Greece) are clearly being referred to as Western Europe for non-geographical reasons. Some feel the label to be stigmatizing for their countries in comparison with states that have successfully asserted their belonging to "the West". Czechs, for instance, will often point out that Prague is significantly west of Vienna, but Austria is never categorized as Eastern Europe.

Although the term Western Europe was largely a construct of the Cold War, it remains much used 15 years after its end. The term is commonly used in the media and in everyday use both in "western" and other regions of Europe. Some reasons for the continued use of the term include economic differences with the former Eastern Bloc countries, cultural differences (e.g. the consequences of all the European colonial "powers" apart from Russia being from Western Europe), and sometimes a resulting feeling of superiority among the inhabitants of "Western Europe".

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
Greece
Switzerland
Liechtenstein
Austria
Malta [1]
the Italian peninsula: Italy, San Marino, and Vatican City
the Iberian peninsula: Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and Gibraltar (a British Overseas Territory)
the Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Iceland

In more detail:

United Kingdom and France, victors of World War II.
The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg countries who had been occupied by Nazi Germany and subsequently liberated by the Western allies.
The Federal Republic of Germany, which had been formed by the three occupation zones of Germany belonging to the Western Allies (USA, UK and France).
Italy, a former Axis Power who had surrendered and been occupied by the Western Allies.
Ireland gained its independence in the 1920s from the United Kingdom. It stayed neutral during World War II and was never invaded. It never joined NATO but it joined the European Union in 1973. 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 mid-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 but were not liberated by the allies. Sweden had been neutral, and while Finland had been a co-belligerent of Germany against the Soviet Union, it had been defeated but not conquered and occupied. The peace treaty between Finland and the Soviet Union stipulated that Finland would surrender some of its territory, that it would not ally with Germany or against the Soviet Union and that Finland would have friendly relations with the 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 before the war, 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 and later EEA. 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 microstates 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. Turkey is typically considered to be a transcontinental nation in Western Asia.