thumb|right|270px|Western Europe.Western Europe is the collection of countries in the westernmost region of
Europe, though this definition is
context-dependent and carries
cultural and
political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a cultural entity—the region lying west of
Central Europe. Another definition was created during the
Cold War and used to describe the non-Communist states of Europe; as a result, geographically central and eastern countries that steered clear of
Soviet influence during the
Cold War are usually included, while Western members of the former
Eastern Bloc are excluded.
In addition, the term has
geographic,
economic and
cultural aspects. Since the end of
World War II, the term has been used to describe the
high-income developed countries of western Europe, characterized by
democratic political systems,
mixed economies combining the
free market with aspects of the
welfare state,
alliance with the United States, and membership in
NATO. However, the political definition is becoming outdated as these characteristics are not special to Western Europe any more.
Classical antiquity and medieval origins
As
Roman domain expanded a cultural and linguistic division appeared between the mainly
Greek-speaking eastern provinces which had formed the highly urbanized
Hellenistic civilization. In contrast, the western territories largely adopted the
Latin language. This cultural and linguistic division was eventually reinforced by the later political east-west division of the
Roman EmpireThe division between these two was enhanced during
Late Antiquity and the
Middle Ages by a number of events. The
Western Roman Empire collapsed starting the
Early Middle Ages. By contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire, mostly known as Greek or
Byzantine Empire, managed to survive and even to thrive for another 1000 years. The rise of the
Frankish Empire in the west, and in particular the
Great Schism that formally divided
Eastern Orthodoxy and
Roman Catholicism, enhanced the cultural and religious distinctiveness between Eastern and Western Europe.
The conquest of the Byzantine Empire, center of the
Eastern Orthodox Church, by the
Muslim Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, and the gradual fragmentation of the
Holy Roman Empire (which had replaced the
Frankish Empire) led to a change of the importance of
Roman Catholic/
Protestant vs.
Eastern Orthodox concept in Europe.
Western Europe's significant historical events include the
Renaissance, the
Protestant Reformation by
Martin Luther and the
Counter-Reformation of the
Catholic Church, the
Age of Enlightenment, the
French Revolution and the
Industrial Revolution. During the final stages of World War II the future of Europe was decided between the
Allies in the 1945
Yalta Conference, between the
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill,
U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and the Premier of the
Soviet Union,
Joseph Stalin.
Post-war Europe would be divided into two major spheres:
the West, influenced by the United States, and the
Eastern Bloc, dominated by the Soviet Union. With the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided by the
Iron Curtain.
This term had been used during
World War II by German
Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels and later Count
Lutz Schwerin von Krosigk in the last days of the war; however, its use was hugely popularised by Winston Churchill, who used it in his famous "Sinews of Peace" address
March 5,
1946 at
Westminster College in
Fulton, Missouri:
Although some countries were officially
neutral, they were classified according to the nature of their political and economical systems. This division has largely defined the popular perception and understanding of Western Europe and its borders with Eastern Europe till this day.
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe, in the view accepted after the
second World War, was mainly composed of all the European countries occupied by the Soviet army. It included the
German Democratic Republic, widely known as East Germany, formed by the
Soviet occupation zone of Germany. All the countries in Eastern Europe had Communist regimes imposed upon them. Most of these countries were officially independent from the Soviet Union, but the practical extent of this independence was quite limited. In some matters many of them were little more than
client-states of the Soviet Union.
Currently, the borders of
Eastern Europe are a topic of debate, especially because of the countries and people of
Western culture, identifying themselves with
Central Europe.
- Most of these countries were members of the military Warsaw pact and its economic twin COMECON. First and foremost was the Soviet Union (which by itself included Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine). 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 World War II and before its later dismemberment) was not a member 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 of the two blocs. It was demonstratively independent from the Soviet Union for most of the Cold War period, but because of its communist regime it was widely regarded part of the Eastern/communist bloc.
- Albania broke with the Soviet Union in the early 1960s as a result of the Sino-Soviet split, aligning itself instead with China. Despite this, it had a communist regime and thus was considered part of the Eastern/communist bloc.
Western Europe
At the end of
World War II almost all the countries of Western Europe received economic assistance from the United States through the
Marshall Plan. Later, most joined
NATO and/or the
European Community or its rival, the
European Free Trade Association.
Western Europe is composed of:
- Italy, a former Axis Power which had surrendered and been occupied by the Western Allies.
- Ireland gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1922. It remained neutral during the war. It never joined NATO but it joined the European Union in 1973.
- The Nordic countries were special cases. Denmark and Norway had been conquered by Nazi Germany but were not liberated by the allies. During the war Iceland, then still united with Denmark under the kingdom of Denmark, had been invaded and occupied by the United Kingdom and the United States without any casualties of any nationality. Iceland proclaimed its full independence during the war.
- Sweden had remained neutral throughout the war.
- Austria and Switzerland were also special cases. Austria had been incorporated into Nazi Germany through the Anschluss before the war, while Switzerland had remained neutral throughout the war. After the war both of them remained neutral, in the case of Austria through the Austrian State Treaty. Austria eventually joined the European Union but not NATO. Switzerland declined membership of NATO and the European Union but did join EFTA.
- Portugal, Spain, and Greece, formerly under authoritarian regimes, became parliamentarian democracies in the mid-1970s. They subsequently joined the European Union. Spain and Greece joined NATO at around that time, but Portugal had been a founding member of NATO (1949) and EFTA (1960), during the Estado Novo regime (1932-1974).
- Malta is generally considered part of Western Europe.
Later political developments
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, and in 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Several countries which had been part of the Soviet Union regained their full independence.
Although the term
Western Europe was largely defined of the Cold War, it still remains much in use. The term is commonly used in the media and in everyday use both in "western" and other regions of Europe.
Western Europe has increasingly less to do with the European Union. The 1995, 2004, and 2007
enlargements saw many post-communist countries joining the EU, and a view that Europe is divided strictly into the West and the East is sometimes considered patronising or pejorative by many in the countries of
Central Europe.
Present time
Definition used by the United Nations Statistics Division
Contemporary statistical
regions of Europe as delineated by the
United Nations (UN definition of Western Europe marked light blue):
The
United Nations Statistics Division considers Western Europe to consist of the following nine countries, except in the case of
United Nations Regional Groups, in which the term also includes northern and southern Europe:
However, it should be noticed that this statistical division was designed during the
Cold War period. According to the UN Statistics Division,
the assignment of countries or areas to specific groupings is for statistical convenience and does not imply any assumption regarding political or other affiliation of countries or territories by the United Nations.
Population of Western Europe
thumb|right|270px|Western Europe as defined by the [[National Geographic Society.
]]
Countries of Western Europe as defined by the
National Geographic Society.
See also
References and notes
- The Making of Europe, ISBN 0-14-015409-4, by Robert Bartlett
- 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
