Western Europe

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Image:Europe-western-countries.png Image:EiserneVorhang.png

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: Template:Col-begin Template:Col-break

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1 Europe carefully divided until the Cold War
2 The Cold War divides Europe into the Eastern/Western blocs
3 Recent political developments and modern Western Europe
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

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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 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 be 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 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 politically 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

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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, but they were classified by the nature of their political and economical systems.

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Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe was basically composed by all the countries liberated by the Soviet armies from German occupation, joined by German Democratic Republic (informally 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.

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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 Federal Republic of Germany (informally 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 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.

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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 or Anatolian country rather than a "Western European" one.

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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

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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