Western Europe
|
A common understanding of Western Europe in modern times. |
Western Europe is mainly a socio-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, and
religion rather than by clear
geography. These boundaries are subject to considerable overlap and â€" most importantly â€" 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 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. In addition,
Scandinavia (in
Northern 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 (
the sub-regions according to the UN), it is comprised of the following nine countries:
|
The definition of continental subregions in use by the United Nations. |
*
Austria*
Belgium*
France*
Germany*
Liechtenstein*
Luxembourg*
Monaco*
Netherlands*
SwitzerlandIn 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, 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 Russian Empire (now become the
USSR) 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.
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, but they were classified according to the nature of their political and economical systems.
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe was basically composed by 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 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 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. Despite being a communist regime, it was demonstratively independendent from the Soviet Union. However, it was 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.
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.
*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 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 join NATO 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. 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
Southeastern Europe and
Western Asia.
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 european countries dissolved Comecon and the Warsaw Pact. Others regained their 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 technically 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 really means
Old Western Europe. He clearly meant the eastern European countries by the term:
New Europe. If the UK should also be included in
Old Europe, it is debatable.
The east/west division still exists, even if in a 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 and the
Republic of Ireland*the
Benelux countries:
Belgium,
Luxembourg, and the
Netherlands*
France and
Monaco*
Germany*
Greece*
Switzerland*
Liechtenstein*
Austria *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,
Iceland,
Norway, and
Sweden*
Western European Union*
Western world*
First World*
New Europe*
Old Europe*
Marshall Plan*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
*
the european sub-regions according to the UN*
Teaching about Western Europends-nl:West-Europa
