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, with the " Iron Curtain " separating it from Eastern Europe ( Warsaw Pact countries). Turkey – as a member of NATO – is included but, otherwise, is generally excluded due to sociopolitical differences with other NATO members.]] Western Europe is mainly a cultural/political concept Coined , forged and used during the Cold War . It largely means the Europe an countries of the First World . It was, and still is to a lesser extent, distinguished from Eastern Europe by differences of Economics , Politics , Culture and Religion rather than by clear Geography . These boundaries are subject to considerable overlap and – most importantly – historical fluctuation, which makes an easy understanding somewhat difficult. Today, the term ''Western Europe'' has less to do with geography and more to do with politics. The concept is also commonly associated with Liberal Democracy , Capitalism and also with the European Union . Most of the countries in the region share some historical, economic, and political ties with the United States Of America and Canada in North America . In addition, Scandinavia (in Northern Europe ) is commonly associated with Social Democracy and remains fairly neutral throughout international disputes. Alternatively, Western Europe is also a geographic Subregion of Europe that is far more restrictive than traditional political reckonings; as defined by the United Nations , it is comprised of the following nine countries: EUROPE BEFORE THE COLD WAR Europe had always been carefully divided until the , which would lead to a radical change of the political map of Europe. The Triple Entente, also known as the Allied Powers (led by British Empire, France, and later, the United States), defeated the Central Powers (led by Germany, Austria and the Ottoman Empire). The countries who lost that conflict, the German Empire , the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire also lost their monarchic dynasties, which were forced to abdicate all their remaining political power and were sent into exile. Their countries changed their political systems into republics and were forced to accept the arguably unsound Treaty Of Versailles . The Russian Empire had declared war upon Austria at the beginning of the World War I but with the Bolshevik Revolution lead by Lenin it had made a peace agreement with the Central Powers. The treaty of Versailles imposed upon the losers the responsibility of the conflict, the loss of territories and the payments of huge Reparations . All this outraged the people and most importantly undermined the acceptance of the new regimes. This was used by Adolf Hitler in his climb to power. In many of his speeches he denounced the ''Diktat von Versailles'' - "the dictate of Versailles". All this would lead towards World War II THE COLD WAR DIVIDES EUROPE INTO THE EASTERN/WESTERN BLOCS During the final stages of WWII the future of the whole of Europe had been decided between the '' mainly influenced by the USA, and the ''eastern/ Communist Bloc '' dominated by the Soviet Union. With the onset of the Cold War , Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain , a name popularized by a speech of Winston Churchill. Some countries were officially politically Neutral , but they were classified by the nature of their political and economical systems. Eastern Europe Eastern Europe was basically composed by all the countries liberated by the Soviet armies from German occupation, joined by German Democratic Republic (informally known as '''East Germany''') formed in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany. By order of Stalin, all these countries received Communist regimes. Although these regimes were officially independent from the Soviet Union, the practical extent of this independence was limited. Yugoslavia and Albania, communist countries which were fiercely independent towards the Soviet Union also belonged to the ''eastern/communist bloc''.
Western Europe Western Europe was basically composed by the European Victors of WWII, all the countries liberated by the ''Western Allies'' from German occupation, joined by Italy a former Axis Power who had surrendered and been occupied by the ''Western Allies'' and the Federal Republic Of Germany (informally known as '''West Germany''') formed by the three parts of Germany who were occupied by the same ''Western Allies'' (USA, UK and France). Other countries would also became increasingly part of ''Western Europe''. They were also part of Nato and/or joined the European Union or its rival the European Free Trade Association . Almost all the countries of ''Western Europe'' received economical assistance from the United States through the Marshall Plan . In more detail:
Turkey
RECENT POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS AND MODERN WESTERN EUROPE The world changed dramatically with the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. The Federal Republic of Germany peacefully absorbed the Democratic Republic of Germany leading to the German Reunification . The eastern countries dissolved Comecon and the Warsaw Pact. Others eastern countries regained their full independence from the Soviet Union: Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine, etc. Many of them joined NATO and some were admitted as members of the European Union. Until the Enlargement Of The European Union of 2004 , ''Western Europe'' was strongly associated with it, although non-members such as Iceland , Norway and Switzerland were included as well. The term Central Europe has started to reappear. For example, Germany is now reunited and thus calling it either western or eastern european would be technically inaccurate. In theory, the term ''Western Europe'' which is largely a construct of the Cold War, should be simply out-dated and negligible. In reality, many citizens of the countries belonging to old ''Western Europe'' feel themselves and their respective countries superior towards the eastern countries due to feelings of Nostalgia . The media also continues to use the term ''Western Europe''. It is generally understood that the term ''''. If the UK should also be included in ''Old Europe'' is debatable. Additionally, French President Jacques Chirac was quoted as telling eastern European nations that expressed support for the US in the Iraq War , that they "missed an opportunity to keep quiet" and were "not very well-mannered and a little careless of the dangers which come with a too-rapid alignment with the American position". The east/west division still exists, even if in a different guise, and by far not as prevalent as during the Cold War. A current understanding of ''Western Europe'' includes the following countries:
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