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=European Politics: Then and Now - Final Wiki=

A wiki for ANT3145: Archaeology of Complex Societies Fall 2011 Daniel Criner

Hello, my name is Daniel Criner. I am doing my wikiproject on the Changing Politics in Europe. I am going to research and present how the political systems of Europe have changed and adapted over the years.

The politics of Europe are a continually evolving process. Europe's politics and political systems are different than that of other places because in Europe politics are affected by geography, economy, and culture where as other places political systems are effected far less. Even though each country in Europe has its own political make-makeup the majority of European politics are dominated by the European Union. The European Union is composed of 27 member States. The laws of this Union are standardized and apply to all member states. You would probably imagine that the larger countries of the European Union would be the political powerhouses of the European Union, but actually the majority of the politics in the European Union revolve around three member countries: Belgium, France, and Luxembourg.

We can't look at the past and how the past has changed over time without looking at what is happening in the present. Did the Politics in Europe change over time or do they change at all? The politics in Europe are continually changing over time, and even day to day, and they are changing all across Europe, since Europe in the combination of many Countries, and even many cultures. Europe over time is trending towards an increase in political unity. I wonder if we can assume that eventually all of Europe will be separate countries, but controlled by one central authority. Such as the European Union.

Currently the Political System in Europe is mainly controlled by the European Union. The European Union is composed of 27 Member Countries. Below is a map of the Countries in the EU as well as other countries that are candidates of the European Union. But that is the current political setup in Europe and as we know civilizations change over time so what was Europe's political system like then?



GUAM member state EU member state EEA member or EU candidate state EurAsECmember state

= = = = =**__//Then://__**=

In the past however Europe was not controlled by such an organization like the European Union, but every country was for themselves, just like every man for ones self. The EU makes the area of Europe more organized because of how close multiple countries are to one another. Since Europe is organized by many countries positioned right next to each other an Authority figure like the EU was created. The EU also does not have total control over what happens in Europe but instead each country has a representative in the EU and votes occur to make all decisions regarding the European Union. Below is a map of Europe that is from GOOGLE EARTH.

From Classic Europe, to the middle ages, to early Modern Europe, to Now, Europe's political system is constantly changing. In Classic Europe it was all about the Greeks and the Romans. And we still see traces of classic Europe in today's political system as well as in Language, Law, and Thought. Since in Classic Europe Greece was a large player we will look at their classic political organization. Greece used to be governed in a form of a direct democracy. In a direct democracy they do not have representatives whom vote on laws and rules, but the citizens themselves vote on the laws and rules, this is different from today where we have representatives who vote for us on laws and rules. Politics in Rome were much different than that going on in Greece at this time. In Rome the Political systems were based around the current ruler and usually that ruler made the laws and rules, one of these such rulers was Constantine. During this time period however everything was in a constant uproar and changes could happen on a daily basis, at this time most of Europe was in a state of War with different States wanting territories that were held by other States.



But as we move out of Classic Europe and into the Middle ages we are beginning to see a completely different political climate in Europe. Urbanization in Europe occurred during the middle ages period. As stated in "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order" by Samuel P. Huntington, "Many modern European states owe their origins to events that occurred during the Middle Ages and that present European political boundaries are, in many regards, the result of the military and dynastic achievements during this tumultuous period." So it was this Middle Age period where we began to see a large fluctuation in the Political Climate of Europe. It is suggested in "The New Road to Serfdom" by Daniel Hannan, that the rapidly increasing populations during the Middle Ages played a significant role in the political climate. However the political climate of the Middle Ages is still filled with War and Conflict. Their is the division of the churches during the Middle Ages, the Holy Wars, and many Stately Invasions. During the Middle Ages we see the Church try to take control of the Political Environment in States and this leads to much Conflict. But like any conflicts, they are naturally healed and during the Middle Ages the conflicts were healed by "The Black Death", which caused a rapid depopulation during the Middle Ages and social unrest, but that eventually lead to a stabilization political environment (//I Wish I'd Been There, Book Two: European History//, Hollinshead//)////.// This stabilization in political environment lead us into the Modern Ages and then what is today known as Modern Europe.



Hollinshead summarizes in his book that the Modern Ages were filled with Technology and Advancement of Civilizations, which included inventions, expansions, and still more war. The Political Climate in Europe did not become stable really until 1623 when the European Council was started to try to end the wars that were occurring in Europe. The European Council could be compared to a Modern Day United Nations. After many years of fighting Europe finally was beginning to see a more stable political climate and one that was Uniform. This Lead Europe into the Industrial Revolution and lead Europe into a major Political Revolution. Europe was once again going to see more wars and fighting, but in the end a modern day political climate would be found. These wars that occurred were the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Napoleonic Wars. Unfortunately Europe was going to be fighting other continents now because you can't create a stable political climate without war and this meant that the World Wars and the Cold Wars would be occurring. But without these events Europe and the World might not be in the situation it is today or at least the World and Europe would not see the Political Climate that we see today. These wars lead us to what is known as Modern Europe.

=//__**Modern Europe**__//=

Following the wars economic integration was sought after in Europe. Cooperation between States in foreign and home affairs began to increase. Something occurred in 1993 that allowed Europe to be what it is today and that was the signing of the Maastrict Treaty (The Clash of Civilizations, Huntington). The Maastrict Treaty established the European Union which also lead to a single currency coming to Europe and a single Political Entity. Even though Europe has many Countries that each have their own Governments, Europe is becoming more uniform in its laws and politics and most member States are following the rules and laws established in the European Union.

This is an Interesting Video on the History of the European Union
media type="youtube" key="sO75ZsvMkc8" height="315" width="420" align="center"

The main political powerhouses in Europe are not the cities or places you would imagine them to be. The main political powerhouses in the European Union are Brussels, Luxembourg, and Strasbourg, and the three of them are pictured below in the map that is from GOOGLE EARTH. It is amazing how close they are to one another also, and that may have significance in the fact that they are the main places of the European Union.

The European Union however is not the only political organization that is in Europe, it is the main political organization in Europe. The other organizations include "The Council of Europe", "The Eurozone", "The EU Customs Union", and that is just naming a few. There are multiple political organizations in Europe and they are pictured in the image below.



This image shows how the current different countries in Europe interact in their society. As you can see there are many zones where some countries are included but others are not. I got the image from this site. http://politicsandpucks.blogspot.com/2011/03/infographic-explains-eu-political.html

=**Other Events Occurring in Europe** **- A European Religion Wiki by Rebecca Newland**=

But politics in Europe was not the only thing that changed throughout history, another important part of civilization that changed was that of Religion. Rebecca Newland does a very good job in describing the changing of Religion throughout time in her wiki which can be found at Rebecca Newland - Europe Religion.

=**Other Events Occurring in Europe****-** Social Relations in Ancient Britain **Wiki by Lorraine Humbert**=

Lorraine Humbert's Wiki on Social Relations in Ancient Britain gives you an idea of what is happening on the Country by Country level in Europe rather than looking at Europe as a whole. Her Wiki is very interesting and also gives you much insight into the climate of Ancient Britain. Her wiki can be found at Lorraine Humbert - Social Relations in Ancient Britain


 * Resources:**


 * Foroohar, Rana. "The End of Europe." //Time// (2011). Web. 30 Nov. 2011.**


 * Bornschier, Simon. "The New Cultural Divide and the Two-Dimensional Political Space in Western Europe." //Western European Politics// 33.3 (2010). Web. 30 Nov. 2011**


 * "EUROPA - The History of the European Union." //EUROPA – EU Website//. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. .**


 * "European Political History: Representative Monarchy." //The Economist - World News, Politics, Economics, Business & Finance//. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. .**


 * Huntington, Samuel P. //The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order//. New York ; Toronto: Simon & Schuster, 2003. Print.**


 * Hannan, Daniel. //The New Road to Serfdom: a Letter of Warning to America//. New York: Harper, 2010. Print.**


 * Hollinshead, Byron, and Theodore K. Rabb. //I Wish I'd Been There, Book Two: European History//. New York: Doubleday, 2008. Print.**


 * "War in Europe." //War In Europe//. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. .**


 * "European Union - 50 Years in 5 Minutes." //European Union - 50 Years in 5 Minutes//. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. .**