The evolution of the The evolution of the European economic core European economic core

areaarea

Economic GeographyEconomic GeographyI. International Business bachelor study programme (BA)I. International Business bachelor study programme (BA)Spring term 201Spring term 20144/201/20155..CUB Department of Economic Geography and Futures StudiesCUB Department of Economic Geography and Futures Studies

dr. Jeney Lászlódr. Jeney LászlóSenior lecturerSenior lecturer

jeney@caesar.elte.hujeney@caesar.elte.hu

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Economic core Economic core regionsregions

Other definition:Other definition:– Global NorthGlobal North– Triad (North America, Europe, East Asia) + AustraliaTriad (North America, Europe, East Asia) + Australia

Appearance as core region:Appearance as core region:– Europe: from the Age of Discoveries and the industrial Europe: from the Age of Discoveries and the industrial

revolutionrevolution– North America, Australia: from the late 19North America, Australia: from the late 19thth century century– Japan: from the 1960s (famous ancient East Asian cultures)Japan: from the 1960s (famous ancient East Asian cultures)

Its state of development: in the forefront of the ageIts state of development: in the forefront of the age Its development is autonomic and organicIts development is autonomic and organic

– Self-modernization: derived from the inner structure and the Self-modernization: derived from the inner structure and the inner motivation of the societyinner motivation of the society

– Recognition of natural and human rules Recognition of natural and human rules getting the new getting the new resources resources ensure a more higher state of satisfaction of ensure a more higher state of satisfaction of needsneeds

Question of definition of Question of definition of EuropeEurope

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What does the European core of the world economy mean?

Definition of Europe differs– Geographically– Politically

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Geologically: not an own continent

Europe: part (peninsula) of Asia/Eurasia (Eurasian plate) one huge continent

India on the contrary: not part of Asia (Indian plate) Indian subcontinent

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Physical geographical borders: not clear East border More clear-cut:

– South: Mediterranean Sea– West: Atlantic Ocean– North: Arctic Ocean

More debated: East– Not a sharp borderline between

Europe and Asia– Humboldt: Eastern border of

Europe is the Ural Mountains (fixed just in the 19th century)

– East: Ural Mountains, Ural River, Caspian Sea, Caucasus Mountains, Black Sea)

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Human geographical borders of Europe: hard to define the transcontinental countries

European borders fall into the line of state borders

Transcontinental countries: partly spread to Asia too– Russia (European area 29%, pop. 72%)– Kazakhstan (rather Asian)– Turkey (European area 3%)– Georgia (rather European)– Azerbaijan (rather European)

Physical geographically totally Asian countries with European orientation– Cyprus (partly Christian, member of EU)– Armenia (Christianity)

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Cultural and social criterions of Europeanism according to Jordan, T. G. (1996) Arbitrary criterions with arbitrary limit values

1. Religion: Christian over 80%2. Language: Indo-Europeans over 80%3. Anthropological character: white population over 90%4. Health: infant mortality under 1%5. Developed economy: per capita GDP over 10.000 $6. Education: illiteracy under 10%7. Developed transport network: road density over

400km/km2

8. Industrial/tertiary employment structure: share of agricultural workers under 15%

9. High urbanization: urban residents over 50%10. Stable population number: natural increase under 1%11. Parliamentary democracy: before 1980

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Political borders of Europe: membership of European integrations

Council of Europe:– European frontiers fall into

the line of state borders– Wider: whole territory of

geographical Europe is included (expect for Western part of Kazakhstan)

– Spread also to Asia (Siberia, Caucasus Mountains, Anatolia, Cyprus)

European Union– Only 28 members– The overseas dependencies

also joined (e.g. French Guiana from South America)

– Greenland: entered as dependency of Denmark, but separated in 1983

Evolution of Europeanism Evolution of Europeanism till the WW IItill the WW II

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Appearance of the concept of Europe

In the early ancient times– Name of Europe:

Phoenician ‘ereb’ (=darkness, sunset)

– 8th century BC: 1st mention in Greek mythology

– At the beginning: Europe ≈ Thrace + Macedonia

– 6th century BC: from Gibraltar to Caucasus Mts.

– Herodotus, Hippocrates: political, cultural values (opposite to Asia, Persian Empire)

1212

Europe under the Roman Empire

Roman Empire– 1st big great political

unit spreading to significant parts of Europe

– Beyond the ‘limes’ (visible borderline): Barbaric lands (≈not Europeans)

– But Middle East, North Africa also belonged to the empire concept of Europe turned to pale

– Classic Greek-Roman culture: part of the European intellectual heritage (Christianity, law, arts, Latin culture)

1313

Middle Ages: Europeanism = Christian religion and ethics Early Middle Ages: only Western (Catholic) Christianity

– 6th–7th century (Isidore, bishop of Seville): Europe = former Western Roman Empire

8th–9th century: Europe = Carolingian (Frankish) Empire– 2nd big great political unit spreading to significant parts of

Europe– Europe ~ foundation members of the European integration

(EU: honours about Charlemagne)– Borders of EC ≈ the frontier of Western Christianity (except

for orthodox East Balkan: GR, CY, BG, RO)– Opposite to the ‘heterodox’ Byzantine Empire not European

Renaissance (pope Pius II): Europe ≈ whole Christian world– Opposite to the ‘pagan’ Ottoman Empire (crusades)– Today also arises by the EU-accession of Turkey– Question of the word ‘Christian’ in the European Constitution

1414

Special European cultural waves

Appearance of the common European identity– 15th–16th century (Machiavelli): common history, culture and

political interest of the European nations– Students at medieval universities from whole Europe (Latin, as

common linguistic heritage)– Humanism ≈ Europeanism: (Dante: Alliances of states)

West European feudalist structure building bottom-up– Slackened bondages in the ruling class– Civil rights with economic autonomy– Rationalism, scientific–technical achievements– Liberty, individualism (opposite to the more community

orientated Eastern cultures) But reformation: reaction against to the common

Europeanism– Breaking line: Catholic South – Protestant North– Organizations of nation states– Nationalism: ‘fashionable’

1515

European unity ideas during the long 19th century Colonization: strong European identity

– Quantitative and qualitative development: supremacy

Empire of Napoleon– 3rd big great political unit spreading to

significant parts of Europe– Liberty, equality, fraternity = Europeanism

European integration– Mazzini, Kossuth: European Confederation– Victor Hugo (1849): European United States

(like USA)

1616

Effects of European civilization on different parts of the World according to Jordan, T. G. (1996)

1717

European cultural pessimism at the 20th century

WW I: European nations fought against each other

Instead of the former fashionable nationalism international intellectual waves (but global, not European)– Socialism: internationalism, but on the basis of working

class– Catholicism: universal

Depression after WW I– Europeanism = agony, pessimism– Spengler: The Decline of the West– Jose Ortega y Gasset: mass of humans instead of

Europanism

1818

Pan-Europeanism at interwar period

Except for Carlo Sforza: European United States Richard Coudenhowe Calergi: pan-European

campaign (1923: book titled Pan-Europe)– Hate of nations further war– Threats:

From the East: communism (military) From the West: Americanism (economic)

League of Nations 1926: 1st Pan-European Congress Briand (French foreign min.):

– integrated the Pan-European approach to the League of Nations

– Suggested the establishment of an EU

1919

WW II, Cold War: the worst periods in the European history 1933: Hitler – new European order (Pax

Germanica)– 4th big great political unit spreading to significant parts

of Europe After WW II:

– Role of Europe decreased in global politics (Germany, Italy, England, France)

– 2 superpowers stand out: USA and SU Cold War: Europe’s division in two parts (iron

curtain)– Beginning of the European integration process– Europe = step by step widening European integration

(EU)