 Western Europe is mainly a socio-political concept coined, forged and used during the Cold War. It largely means the European countries of the First World. It was, and still is to a lesser extent, distinguished from Eastern Europe by differences of economics, politics, 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 economics. The concept is also commonly associated, but not clearly delimited, with libera democracy, capitalism and also with the European Union. Most of the countries in the region share Western culture, and many have economic, and political ties with countries in North and South America and Oceania. In addition, Scandinavia (in Northern Europe) is commonly associated with social democracy and remains fairly neutral throughout international disputes.
Western Europe cruises
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