What is Europe? Where are its Boundaries?

 

The Question of “What is Europe is a multi-faceted question, as there are many different avenues that one can take to investigate the question.  Different lenses must be used to dissect the continent that can range from economic clout to cultural boundaries.  While there are many different regions of the continent that vary in economy, culture and geography, there are some more holistic and concrete definitions of what is Europe.  To begin, Europe’s boarders are definite, even though certain countries leaders may disagree, are definite.  The continent extends from Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea south down to the north coast of the Mediterranean Sea, East of the Atlantic Ocean and on the western boarder lies Russia, with the dividing line in the western section of the country.  These boarders have been disputed for many years, and are changing constantly.  Recently in 2008, Russia invaded and annexed a section of Georgia in an act of aggression, thus shifting the European Boarder farther south into Asia.  European boundaries can also be described using a different context than geographical.  Cultural norms that are the status quo in Europe can draw boundaries between certain countries.  Europe can be clearly divided in to a Eastern and Western section based on cultural standards.  Eastern refers to the more traditional and conservative outlooks, often associated with authoritarianism and Islamic-centric states.  These states differ from the Western European outlook which strongly encourages democracy and natural autonomy for their citizens.  These countries that adopt these ideals, The UK, France, Germany, Belgium among others, have committed themselves to the EU after witnessing the atrocities of WWII, pledging themselves to prevent such an event to ever happen again.  Glencross states that the sentiment of “never again” (Glencross 23) was a gluing force between nations post WWII. Through this international agreement, Europe changes to a divided continent with singular states watching out for their sole interest, it is a unified group that works cooperatively together to forward movements to prevent an outbreak of another war.  They do this by monitoring human rights violations among other things.  The EU effectively watches and checks its members to prevent the outbreak of another armed conflict.

Because of this singular union among 28 European states, this affects the identity of the citizens of the member states.  This identity can be put in a context of a boundary within Europe.  Throughout the 28 countries, people still identify with their respective country but also with the European identity.  Banded together, these unified states under the EU promote a international nationalism for lack of a better term for their home continent of Europe.  But what about the countries surrounding the EU?  Many of these countries are within a close proximity to Russia, with whom the EU often monitors and checks.  Through Russian influence from the Cold War, many of these countries retain pro-Russian sentiments.  This eastern block mentality provides not necessarily anti-EU sentiment, but certainly not pro.

 

The Idea of Europe

In the greater scheme of Europe as a whole, The Netherlands may seem somewhat insignificant.  It occupies a relatively small plot of land with large shipping hubs along its Atlantic coast; just another small European country.  However, when you look at the internal dynamics of the country it is clear that it is not so insignificant, and how what happens internally affects the surrounding countries and Europe as a whole.   The Netherlands has been a shipping country due to their geographic location, with major ports like Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and is one of the largest exporters in the world.  Additionally the countries unique liberal stance on many social movements such as soft drugs and sex workers provide a unique and different perspective when talking at the European table.

 

The Netherlands economic capabilities stem from the nature of the countries geography.  Being on the Atlantic, the country has always been a major port, exporting goods like fish and agriculture.  The country also became very heavily involved with banking, which it amassed a large economy.   The Netherlands was ranked 2nd in 2016 by the Global Enabling Trade Forum by the World Economic Forum (World Economic Forum 2) and was ranked the 5th most competitive economy by the Swiss International Institution for Management Development in 2017 (IIMD 3).  With these numbers, The Netherlands’s economy is very strong, and it plays a large role in the greater context of Europe.  However, since the country is very committed to their neighbors about economic support, and through that liberal connection in foreign relations, the country is somewhat reliant on them as trade partners.  If they suddenly stopped trade with other countries, the economy would be in shambles.

Another unique staple in the European context is that of the socially progressive and accepting policy that the country adopts.  The Netherlands has a longstanding tradition of Dutch social tolerance dating back to the 19th century.  This social acceptance started with religion, but today has moved to much more political issues elsewhere such as cannabis laws, prostitution and the sex business.  While they hold these beliefs to be important and vital to who they are as a people, they also bring a unique perspective to the table when thinking in a broader European context.  The Netherlands almost always supports liberal trade agreements and social policy when talking in the grand scheme, with their membership in NATO, the EU and the UK.

Works Cited:

International Institute for Management Development. “T h e 2 01 7 I M D Wo r l d Competitiveness Ranking.” The Wayback Machine, Aug. 2016.

“The Global Enabling Trade Report 2016.” Global Competitiveness Index 2017-2018,

Glencross, Andrew. 2013. Politics of European Integration : Political Union or a House Divided. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.