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Western Europe is mainly a socio-political concept forged during the Cold War, which largely defined its borders. Its boundaries were effectively forged during the final stages of World War II and came to encompass all European countries which did not come under Soviet control and influence. As such these capitalist First World countries did not see communism regimes imposed upon them. Neutral country countries were classified by the nature of their political regimes.

In common perception and usage, Western Europe was, and still is in a lesser extent, distinguished from Eastern Europe by differences of culture, politics, and economics and its borders have little to do with clear and precise geography. culture and religion boundaries between these two regions are subject to considerable overlap and – most importantly – historical fluctuation, which makes a precise understanding somewhat difficult.

The term is commonly associated, but not clearly delimited, with liberal democracy, capitalism, and also with the European Union. Most of the countries in this region share Western culture, and many have economic, historical, and political ties with countries in North America and South America, and Oceania (see also: Western world).

It includes:

the Nordic countries: , , , , and
the British Isles The term British Isles is controversial in relation to Ireland where its use is objected by the government of the Irish Republic and many of its citizens. (See British Isles naming dispute).: and the
the Alps: , , and
the Benelux countries: , the , and
the Italian Peninsula: , , and
the Iberian Peninsula: , , , and Gibraltar (a British overseas territories)

UN geopraphical definition s of Europe as delineated by the United Nations (UN definition of Western Europe marked light blue):Alternatively for the United Nations, Western Europe is also a less-known geographic subregion of Europe that is far more restrictive than traditional political and cultural reckonings; United Nations Statistics Division: "Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings", it comprises the following nine countries:

Classical antiquity and medieval origins The earliest known distinctions between east and west in Europe originate in the history of the Roman Republic. As Roman domain expanded a cultural and linguistical division appeared between the mainly Koine Greek-speaking eastern provinces which had formed the highly urbanized Hellenistic civilization. On 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 Empire.

The division between these two spheres 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 Byzantine Empire, managed to survive and even to thrive for another 1000 years. The rise of the Carolingian Empire in the west, and in particular the East-West Schism that formally divided Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity, 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.

Historical events like 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 are considered to be common experiences which have shaped Western European culture and identity. During the Age of Discovery, most of the western European countries colonized Africa, Asia, South America and North America. All these historical events and cultural developments have influence over the Western European concept. separated the European members of NATO (in blue) from the members of the Warsaw Pact (in red). Neutral coutries were classified by the nature of their political system. The Cold War divides Europe into the Eastern/Western blocs During the final stages of WWII the future of Europe was decided between the Allies in the 1945 Yalta Conference, between the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill, the President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and the Premier of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin.

Post-war Europe would be divided into two major spheres: the Western world#The Cold War 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.

This term had been used during World War II by German Propagandaministerium 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, Missouri in Fulton, Missouri:

Although some countries were officially Neutral country, they were classified according to the nature of their political and economical systems. This division largely defined the popular perception and understanding of Western Europe and its borders with Eastern Europe till this day.

A divided Europe Eastern Europe Eastern Europe was mainly composed of all the European countries liberated and then 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 Satellite states of the Soviet Union.

Most of these countries were members of the military Warsaw pact and its economical twin COMECON. First and foremost was the Soviet Union (which by itself included Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, 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 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 Western Europe was and is composed by:

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 West Germany, widely known as West 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.
Republic of Ireland gained its independence in the 1920s from the United Kingdom. It stayed The Emergency during World War II. It never joined NATO but it joined the European Union in 1973.
The Nordic countries were a peculiar case. Denmark and Norway had been conquered by Nazi Germany but were not liberated by the allies. During the war Iceland, united with Denmark under a common king, had been Invasion of Iceland by the United Kingdom and the United States without any casualties by either side.
Sweden had managed to remain neutral throughout the war.
Finland had been a co-belligerent of Germany against the Soviet Union and it had been defeated, but was not conquered or occupied. (for further details see:Continuation War). The Paris Peace Treaties, 1947 between Finland and the Soviet Union stipulated that the Soviet Union would Annexation minor parts of Finland, and that Finland would have friendly relations with the Soviet Union (see also: Moscow Armistice).

Austria and Switzerland are also a peculiar case. Austria had been incorporated into Nazi Germany through the Anschluss before the war, while Switzerland had managed to remain neutral throughout the WWII. After the war 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.

Other countries also became increasingly part of Western Europe. Almost all countries of Western Europe received economical assistance from the United States through the Marshall Plan. Many joined NATO and/or the European Union or its rival, the European Free Trade Association.

Countries who were under the rule 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 European microstates of Vatican City, San Marino, Monaco, Andorra and Liechtenstein are considered part of Western Europe but they 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.
Malta is generally considered part of Western EuropeUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization: Western Europe.

Turkey

Turkey, as a member of NATO was accepted as belonging to the Western bloc. Nevertheless it has not yet become a part of the European Union. Turkey is typically considered to be a transcontinental nation in both southeastern Europe and Southwest Asia.

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.

The term Central Europe reappeared.

Western Europe has increasingly less to do with the European Union. The 1995, 2004, and 2007 Enlargement of the European Union saw many eastern 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 nominally eastern countries.

See also

Western European Union
Western world
First World
New Europe
Old Europe
Marshall Plan

References and notes

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

The European sub-regions according to the UN
Western Europe according to UNESCO
Teaching about Western Europe
Western Europe.info

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