ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

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Western Europe is the western region of Europe. It is a historical, economic, geographical, religious and political concept, subject to fluctuations in meaning over time.

Description
Today the term Western Europe has less to do with geography and more with the economy. The concept is also commonly associated with liberal democracy, capitalism and also with the European Union. Most countries in the region share Western culture and many have political and economic ties with North and South America and Oceania. In addition, Scandinavia, in Northern Europe, is commonly associated with social democracy and remains neutral during international disputes.

Alternatively, Western Europe is also a geographical subregion of Europe which is even more restrictive than previously mentioned and, as defined by the United Nations, includes the following states:

Europe before the Cold War
At the beginning of the 20th century, there were two main alliances on the political chessboard of Europe: the Central Commitments and the Threefold Understanding. In 1914, these two blocks were confronted in the First World War.

The Three Realms, also known as Allied Powers (British Empire, Italy, France and the United States, while the Russian Empire retreated in 1917), defeated Central Commitments (Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire). The three main members of the Central Powers also lost their monarchical dynasties, which were forced to abdicate and were sent to exile. The political systems of these countries were transformed into republics and were obliged to accept the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The Russian Empire, now becoming the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, formed a separate peace with the Central Imperi with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

The Treaty of Versailles imposed the responsibility of the conflict against the losing countries, which suffered the loss of territories and the payment of significant war damage. All this led to the anger of the population and the lack of acceptance of post-war regimes. The general dissatisfaction was used by Adolf Hitler for his rise in power: in many of his speeches the dictator denounced the Diktat von Versailles - "the diktat of Versailles". This was one of the causes of the Second World War.

Europe divided into two blocks from the Cold War

During the final stages of World War II, the future of the whole of Europe had been decided by the Allies during the Jalta Conference, with the UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Soviet Union dictator Josif Stalin. Post-war Europe should be divided into two main spheres: the Western bloc, mainly under the influence of the United States, and the Eastern bloc (communist), dominated by the USSR. With the beginning of the Cold War, Europe was div