Chapter 7Europe and the Modern World

Introduction

• Why have European descendants had such a large impact on global development?– Advantages in

• Europeans descendants have established what we know as modern– Rise in agricultural production– Currency-based trade– Long distance good and service exchange– Rapid industry and technological improvements

What is Europe?

• Geographic definition– Land mass extending from the tip of Norway in the

north to Gibraltar in the southwest and Bosporus in the southeast, and from Iceland in the Atlantic to the Ural Mountains in Central Russia

– Europe has a temperate climate, abundant rainfall, a long growing season, navigable waterways, and accessible oceans and seas

– Europe has ample resources

What is Europe?

• Historical definition– Judeo-Christian tradition brought to the heart of

Europe in first millennium CE– The Renaissance and Reformation propelled

Europe’s political and economic development past the Ottoman and Chinese empires

– 1492 Christopher Columbus found the “New World”– European modernization was characterized by a

flourishing of diverse religious, political, scientific, and technological thought

What is Europe?

• Political definition– Since World War II, the political definition began

to change– Western Europe characterized by:• Democratic government• Capitalist economy• Military alliance with US and Canada (NATO)

– Eastern Europe characterized by:• Non-democratic government• Ideologies outlined by the Warsaw Pact (Soviet Union)

What is Europe?

• Cultural definition– Traces many of its cultural influence to ancient

civilizations like Egypt, Palestine, Greece, and Rome– Europe is predominantly Christian and substantially

Jewish before the Holocaust– During the Reformation, Protestantism grew largely in

Europe– Three major groups of languages:

• Germanic: English, German, various Scandinavian languages• Romance: Spanish, French, Italian, and Romanian• Slavic: Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Serbian, etc

Europe and the World’s Progress Toward Liberal Democracy

• The world’s first democracies were formed in Europe and North America

• Liberal democracy – a system of government that institutionalizes majority rule and equality under the law

• Decolonization at the end of the 20th century and the fall of communism allowed for the formation of new democratic states

• With the exception of Belarus, all of the European states now have democratic systems of some sort

Development of Democracy Around the World

• Today most Latin American countries have liberal democracies• In the mid-19th century Karl Marx introduced a hurdle to the

spread of democracy– Claimed the working class receives less than their value– Led to Communist practice

• Nationalism was another barrier to the spread of democracy• After World War I, more barriers to democracy began to

sprout– The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia created the first Communist state– Fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany had the same effect on

democracy• Eventually democratic rule reigned supreme as most other

ideologies failed in the end

Europe in the Twentieth Century:From War to Economic Unity

• Classical economic liberalism is the idea that economies function most efficiently with little government intervention

• After World War II, many steps were taken by the United States to promote free markets and international economic cooperation– The World Bank made loans to spur economic development– The International Monetary Fund (IMF) tried to keep

currencies stable– The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), now

known as the World Trade Organization (WTO), helped reduce barrier to free trade

The Marshall Plan

• A $13 billion aid program from 1948-1952 to jump-start the Western European Economies

• Was a contrast to Stalin’s exploitation of the East German and Eastern European economies

• Was the first step toward Western European economic integration

• The results of the Marshall Plan ended any real threat from a united Communist movement in West Europe

European Economic Integration

• The European Coal and Steel Community of 1951– Lowered tariffs and controlled production among

France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg

– These six countries formed the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1957 which lowered trade as a whole and created a common external tariff

– These countries saw great economic growth, more countries joined over time to what is now the European Union

European Social Democracy

• Combines free-market economy with extensive social benefits and substantial government regulation

• Most countries in Europe possess this kind of system providing universal health care, pension benefits, etc.

• Recently, some countries have started to struggle to maintain these benefits as the population has grown and the economy waned

The Scourge of Nationalism and National Conflict in Modern Europe

• Today, national pride throughout Europe is a result of positive events that have come through innovation and hard work in recent years

• Nationalism isn’t always a positive thing though– World War I

• Europeans were excited about war to show their superiority…9 million Europeans died

– World War II• German nationalism led to a strong attack on Europe…35

million Europeans died

State and Nation

• State – a governing political structure• Nation – a distinct group of people– Loaded term suggesting that a nation should have

its own state• Some nations do not have states– Kurds in Turkey– Albanians in Serbia– Basques in Spain

Nationalism

• An identity that is learned from family, community, schools, and the media– National histories often distort the truth to glorify

historical figures and raise the nation’s achievements above others

• Nationalism has been used to mobilize the masses of a nation toward a common goal

• National myths appeal to emotion rather than reason

Nationalism in European History

• In the 19th century:– European nationalism

• Industrialization, urbanization, increased literacy

– German and Italian joint nationalism efforts– Opposing nationalist ideas in Austria– Conservative nationalism in Piedmont-Sardinia and Prussia

• 20th century:– World War I

• Germany as a force due to loyal soldiers

– World War II• Nazi Germany again as a world threat

National Self-Determination and the Right to Statehood

• National self-determination– The idea that deserving nations should be given a

state to practice their inalienable rights• Contested borders– The international community and the United

Nations have decided that established borders are unbreakable

– Many nations believe borders established by imperial powers should be changed

Europe and the Terrorist Threat

• Europe has a long history of terrorist activity– Terrorist tactics by 19th century Russian

revolutionaries to oppose czarist rule– Assassination of the Archduke of Austria in 1914

• Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA)– A Basque terror group that has sought independence

of the northern Basque region of Spain• Irish Republican Army (IRA)– Fought to end British rule in Northern Ireland

Irish Republican Army

• Irish have been struggling for independence from the United Kingdom for more than a century

• An Irish Republic was declared in 1916 during a rebellion in Dublin, until British forces stopped the rebellion and killed 15 of the ringleaders

• The Irish Republic was again proclaimed in 1918, but London did not recognize its legitimacy– The IRA was formed as a defense force and began to

conduct guerilla attacks on British forces

The Troubles

• The six northern Protestant Irish provinces that still belonged to the UK after the Free Irish State was declared in 1921 have become the source of what is known as the Troubles

• Violence erupted in the 1960’s as Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland demanded equal civil and economic rights– Massacre of Londonberry in 1972 known as “Bloody

Sunday”– Fighting continued and 3,600 deaths and 40,000 injuries

occurred by the end of the 1970’s

Conflict Resolution in Ireland

• By the 1990’s, nationalism waned and realism started to set in– The Irish and British didn’t foresee anything being

gained by continuing the Troubles• A cease-fire was reached in 1994 with the IRA

and a Northern Ireland Parliament was formed as a result of the Good Friday Agreement– Although the agreement didn’t completely work

out in the end, peace is in sight

Europe’s Importance in the World Today

• The U.S. and the European Union (EU) have the world’s largest economies and the biggest and most sophisticated militaries

• The EU is the largest free-trade area in the world– Russia’s most important trading partner

• The EU accounts for 30% of the world’s GDP and only 7% of the world’s population