Transcript World Regional Geography

Lydia Mihelic Pulsipher • Alex Pulsipher
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World Regional Geography
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FIFTH EDITION
CHAPTER 4
Europe
© 2011 W. H. Freeman and Company
HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS
Any feedback on our two guest speakers from
Thursday?
 Tonight there’s a lecture at 7 on sea level rise
and its implications for the 21st century in
Building 356, Room 109 (the auditorium).
Admission is free.
 In the folder, you’ll find information on
International Development Week, which leads off
with the keynote, “Global Water, Local Water,”
next Monday from 5:30 to 7 in the Theatre.
 Today, we’ll finish Latin America and start in on
Europe.
 Can I see Sarah after class?

EUROPE – POLITICAL MAP AND
PHYSIOGRAPHY
FIGURE 4.2 PIG FARMS IN ROMANIA AND THE
UNITED STATES
PHYSICAL PATTERNS
 Europe
is a region of peninsulas upon
peninsulas
 The entire European region is one giant
peninsula extending off the Eurasian
continent
 One result of all of these peninsulas is that
much of Europe feels the climate-moderating
effect of the large bodies of water that
surround it
LANDFORMS
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The basic pattern is mountains, uplands, and
lowlands, all stretching roughly west to east
in wide bands
Europe’s largest mountain chain stretches
west to east through the middle of the
continent
The Alps are the highest and most central
part of this formation
Europe lies on the westernmost extension of
the Eurasian Plate
LANDFORMS
 Extending
northward from the central
mountain zone is a band of low-lying hills
and plateaus that is a transitional zone
between the high mountains and lowlands
 The lowlands of the North European Plain is
the most extensive landform in Europe
 The coastal zones of the North European
Plain are densely populated
LANDFORMS
 The
rivers of Europe link its interior to the
surrounding seas
- The Rhine
- The Danube
 The economic and environmental roles of the
Danube River basin are getting increased
attention
VEGETATION
Nearly all of Europe’s original forests are gone to
make way for farmland, pasture, towns, and
cities
 Today, forests with very large and old trees exist
only in scattered areas
 The dominant vegetation is crops and pasture
grass
 Nonetheless, there is far less urban sprawl; cities
tend to be compact and one can often see the
countryside from the city itself

Siena in Tuscany. Source:
http://www.revealedrome.com
/2010/10/siena-a-gem-of-a
-tuscan-city.html
CLIMATE
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Europe has three main climate types: temperate
midlatitude, Mediterranean, and humid
continental
The temperate midlatitude climate dominates in
northwestern Europe
A broad warm-water ocean current called the
North Atlantic Drift brings large amounts of
warm water to the coasts of Europe
Farther to the south, the Mediterranean climate
prevails (warm, dry summers and mild, rainy
winters)
In eastern Europe the more extreme humid
continental climate prevails
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
 Europeans
are now increasingly taking
action on environmental issues at the local
and global scales
 Europe’s air, seas, and rivers remain some of
the most polluted in the world, and there is
still a long way to go to meet the European
Union’s stated environmental goals
 Nonetheless, Europe is in the vanguard of
sustainability theory and practice, and the
European Union encourages countries to
raise their environmental and social
standards and not lower them
EUROPE’S IMPACT ON THE BIOSPHERE
 This
region continues to have a major impact
on the biosphere through the air, water, and
sea pollution it generates. However, for the
most part, its per capita ecological footprint is
considerably below that of North America
 Europe is itself especially vulnerable to a
number of the potential effects of climate
change, all of which will affect agriculture
and industries such as tourism and transportation. It also saw a major heat wave in
2003 that killed thousands of people
EUROPE’S ENERGY RESOURCES
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Europe’s main energy sources have shifted over
the years from coal to petroleum and natural gas
(also nuclear power in some countries)
The 27 members of the European Union (EU27)
get a large portion of their fuel supplies from
Russia
The EU27 depend on nuclear power for 30
percent of their total needs
The European Union wishes to increase its use of
renewable energy in order to reduce fuel imports
and thereby increase energy security, and some
countries are making extraordinary strides
AIR POLLUTION
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Air pollution is particularly heavy over the North
European Plain due to the region’s heavy
industry, dense transportation routes, and large
populations
The highest level of air pollution is found in the
former communist states of Central and North
Europe
Central Europe’s severe environmental problems
developed in part because the Marxist-Leninist
policies promoted by the Soviet Union and its
allies emphasized industrialization at all costs
and an ethic of humans dominating over nature
FRESHWATER AND SEAWATER POLLUTION
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Sources of water pollution in Europe include:
- Insufficiently treated sewage
- Chemicals and silt in the runoff from agricultural
plots and residential units
- consumer packaging litter
- petroleum residues
- industrial effluent
The Baltic, Mediterranean, and Black seas are
nearly landlocked bodies of water that are prone
to accumulating pollution
Water exits the Mediterranean only after it has
been in the sea for 80 years
THE WIDE REACH OF EUROPE’S
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
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Europeans consume one-fifth of the world’s
imports and many of these goods have a high
virtual water component
Nearly all EU countries import more virtual
water than they export
This is the same with other nonrenewable
resources imported from outside Europe
The environmental impacts of Europe’s virtual
water consumption should be counted along with
Europe’s total impact on the biosphere
EUROPEAN LEADERSHIP IN RESPONSE TO
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
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Europe leads the world in response to global
climate change
Europe has been more willing than any other
region to act on climate change, largely because it
recognizes the economic sense in doing so
Recent research suggests doing nothing about
global warming would shrink the EU’s GDP by
20 percent
EUROPEAN LEADERSHIP IN RESPONSE TO
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
Europe’s increasing concern about global
warming may also be influenced by public alarm
at recent abnormal weather
 The summer of 2003 broke all high-temperature
records for Europe
 In 2002 and 2006, rainfall and snowfall in
Central Europe reached record levels
 In the spring of 2006, rivers flooded for weeks

PROGRESS IN GREEN BEHAVIOR
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Europeans use large amounts of resources and
contribute about one-quarter of the world’s
greenhouse gas emissions
One European resident averages only one-half
the energy consumption of the average North
American resident
These energy-saving practices are related in part
to the high population densities and social
customs of the region, but also to widespread
explicit support for ecological principles
Green (environmentally activist) political parties
influence national policies in all European
countries
PROGRESS IN GREEN BUILDING
There is no generally accepted definition of green
building
 In the European Union, green building refers to
the all-around sustainability of a building design
 Thus far Europe has outpaced the United States
in green building through incorporation of
renewable energy technologies and passivehaus
techniques

CHANGES IN TRANSPORTATION
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Europeans have long favored fast rail networks for
both passengers and cargo rather than private cars,
trucks, and multilane highways
Worry about the relationship between CO2
emissions and climate change has created a
noticeable trend toward less energy-efficient but
more flexible motorized road transport
Now rising fuel costs and CO2 emissions are
increasingly being considered in the design of
multimodal transport that links high-speed rail to
road, air, and water transport
Parts of Europe have a strong cycling culture
Source: Google Images
HUMAN PATTERNS OVER TIME
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Over the last 500 years, Europe has profoundly
influenced how the world trades, fights, thinks,
and governs itself
Attempts to explain this influence are wideranging
- One argument is that Europeans are somehow a
superior breed of humans – popular in the 19th
century, but now discredited
- Another is that Europe’s many bays, peninsulas,
and navigable rivers have promoted commerce to
a greater extent there than elsewhere
- Some, such as geographers Jared Diamond
(Guns, Germs, and Steel), argue that Europeans
were just in the right place in the right time
SOURCES OF EUROPEAN CULTURE
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Starting about 10,000 years ago, the practice of
agriculture and animal husbandry gradually
spread into Europe from Southwest and Central
Asia
Mining, metalworking, and mathematics also
came to Europe from these places and from North
Africa
Economic innovations came from Muslim traders
and bankers
The Chinese contributed gunpowder and paper
All of these innovations opened the way for a
wider range of economic activity (most notably
trade) in Europe
SOURCES OF EUROPEAN CULTURE
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The first European civilizations were ancient
Greece (800 to 86 B.C.E.) and Rome (100 B.C.E. to
450 C.E.)
Both were located in southern Europe
European traditions of science, art, and literature
were heavily based on Greek ideas, which were
themselves derived from yet earlier Egyptian and
Southwest Asian sources
SOURCES OF EUROPEAN CULTURE
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The Romans, after first borrowing heavily from Greek
culture, also left important legacies in Europe
Many Europeans today speak Romance languages
which are largely derived from Latin, the language of
the Roman Empire
Rome was the origin of European laws that determine
how individuals own, buy, and sell land
These laws have been spread throughout the world by
Europeans
Roman practices used in colonizing new lands also
shaped much of Europe
SOURCES OF EUROPEAN CULTURE
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The influence of Islamic civilization on Europe is
often overlooked
During a period known as the Dark Ages, preMuslim and then Muslim scholars preserved
learning from Rome and Greece and added new
findings in mathematics and other disciplines
The Arabs, Persians, and Turks all brought new
technologies, food crops, architectural principles,
and textiles to Europe during the Ottoman
Empire
THE INEQUALITIES OF FEUDALISM
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As the Roman Empire declined, a social system
known as feudalism evolved during the medieval
period
This system originated from the need to defend
rural areas against local bandits and raiders
The objective of feudalism was to have a
sufficient number of heavily armed, professional
fighting men, or knights, to defend a much larger
group of serfs, who were legally bound to live on
and cultivate plots of land for the knights
THE INEQUALITIES OF FEUDALISM
Over time these knights became a wealthy class
called the nobility. Some of the nobility had more
prestige and power than others
 Some nobles gained so much power that they
became centralized rulers (kings or monarchs).
Their domains took the form of nation-states or
empires
 Most serfs lived in poverty outside castle walls,
and much like slaves, were legally barred from
leaving the lands they cultivated for their
protectors
 Wars were common and castles provided bulwark
of protection as well as outposts for securing newly
conquered territories
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ROLE OF URBANIZATION IN THE
TRANSFORMATION OF EUROPE
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While rural life followed established feudal
patterns, new political and economic institutions
were developing in Europe’s towns and cities
Thick walls provided defense against raiders, and
commerce and crafts supplied livelihoods
Located along trade routes, Europe’s urban areas
were exposed to new ideas, technologies, and
institutions. They also developed a measure of
political autonomy and served as a refuge for
escaped serfs
Some institutions provided the foundations for
Europe’s modern economy
ROLE OF URBANIZATION IN THE
TRANSFORMATION OF EUROPE
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Over time, Europe’s urban areas established a
pace of social and technological change that left
the feudal rural areas far behind
A related outgrowth of urban Europe was a
philosophy known as humanism, which
emphasized the dignity and worth of the
individual regardless of wealth or social status
The liberating influences of European urban life
transformed the practice of religion
Ideas spread faster with the invention of the
European version of the printing press, which
enabled widespread literacy
EUROPEAN COLONIALISM:
AN ACCELERATION OF GLOBALIZATION
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Increased commerce and cultural exchange
began a period of globalization that persists
today
Mercantilism: a strategy for increasing a
country’s power and wealth by acquiring
colonies and managing all aspects of their
production, transport, and trade
Mercantilism supported the Industrial
Revolution in Europe. The development of
Europe was literally underwritten by the
exploitation of the colonies.
EUROPEAN COLONIALISM:
AN ACCELERATION OF GLOBALIZATION
By the twentieth century, European colonial
systems had strongly influenced nearly every
part of the world
 The overseas empires of England, the
Netherlands, and eventually France were the
beginnings of the modern global economy

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
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Britain developed a small but growing trading
empire in the Caribbean, North America, and
South Asia
This provided Britain with access to a wide range
of raw materials
Sugar, produced by British colonies in the
Caribbean, was an especially important trade
crop
By the late eighteenth century, Britain was
introducing mechanization into its industries
URBANIZATION AND DEMOCRATIZATION
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Industrialization led to massive growth in urban
areas in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
Extremely low living standards in Europe’s cities
created tremendous pressures for change in the
political order
Radical movements – such as socialism and
anarchism – grew amongst the working classes
After lengthy struggles, democracy was expanded
to Europe’s huge and growing working class
In addition, efforts were made to unify pseudoentities such as Italy and Germany that were
still divided into tiny principalities
URBANIZATION AND DEMOCRATIZATION
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In 1789, the French Revolution led to the first
major inclusion of common people in the political
process in Europe
The democratic expansion created by the French
Revolution ultimately proved short-lived as elitedominated governments soon regained control in
France
Nevertheless, the French Revolution provided
crucial inspiration to later urban democratic
political movements in many parts of the world
THE IMPACT OF COMMUNISM
Popular discontent erupted periodically in the
form of new revolutionary political movements
 Karl Marx framed the mounting social unrest in
Europe’s cities as a struggle between
socioeconomic classes
 Marx’s ideas inspired the creation of a
revolutionary communist state in 1917
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POPULAR DEMOCRACY AND NATIONALISM
Political movements among workers were more
successful at expanding democracy
 Innumerable struggles between labor and the
authorities continued until eventually workers
gained the right to unionize
 The development of democracy was also linked to
the idea of nationalism, or allegiance to the state
 The creation of unified nation-states, such as
France, often led to the suppression of minorities,
such as the Bretons, a Celtic-speaking people
living in Brittany
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DEMOCRACY AND THE WELFARE STATE
Public pressure for improved living standards
moved most European governments toward
becoming welfare states, partly to avoid more
revolutionary outcomes
 In a welfare state governments accept
responsibility for the well-being of their
people, guaranteeing basic necessities
 All such states – even the best, such as in
Scandinavian countries – have seen some
erosion in recent years because of fiscal
constraints and ideological shifts
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TWO WORLD WARS AND THEIR
AFTERMATH
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Between 1914 and 1945, two horribly destructive
world wars left Europe in ruins
At least 20 million people died in World War I
(1914–1918) and 70 million in World War II
(1939–1945)
During World War II, Germany’s Nazi
government killed 15 million civilians
Eleven million civilians died at the hands of the
Nazis during the Holocaust, a massive execution
of 6 million Jews and 5 million Roma (Gypsies)
TWO WORLD WARS AND THEIR
AFTERMATH
After World War II ended in 1945, Germany
was divided into two parts, East Germany
and West Germany
 The line between East Germany and West
Germany was part of what was called the
iron curtain, a long, fortified border zone that
separated western Europe from eastern
Europe
 The eastern part of Europe was under Soviet
domination, and west was largely subordinate
to the U.S.
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THE COLD WAR
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The division of Europe created a period of conflict
between the United States and the Soviet Union
known as the Cold War, which lasted from 1945
to 1991
The central issue was the competition between
capitalism and communism
It was global conflict and brought the world on
more than one occasion to the brink of nuclear
war
DECOLONIZATION, DEMOCRATIZATION,
AND CONFLICT IN MODERN EUROPE
By the 1960s, most former European colonies had
gained independence
 Despite democracy’s long history in Europe, it
nearly disappeared during the two world wars
 Then post-war western Europe made remarkable
progress in reorganizing itself around democratic
principles and humanitarian ideals
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CURRENT GEOGRAPHIC ISSUES
Europe today is in a state of transition as a
result of two major changes that occurred
during the 1990s:
 The demise of the Soviet Union
 The rise of the European Union
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THE EUROPEAN UNION:
A RISING SUPERPOWER
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The original plan after the trauma of World War
II was simply to work toward a level of economic
and social integration that would make possible
the free flow of goods and people across national
borders
Some Europeans believe that the European
Union should become a global counterforce to the
United States in political and military affairs
STEPS IN CREATING THE EUROPEAN
UNION
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The first major step in achieving economic unity
took place in 1958
Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, France,
Italy, and West Germany formed the European
Economic Community (EEC)
In 1992, the concept of the EEC was expanded to
that of the European Union, which is concerned
with more than just economic policy
STEPS IN CREATING THE EUROPEAN
UNION
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A united Germany facilitated the further
expansion of the European Union into the former
communist countries of Central Europe in 2004,
then into southeast Europe when Romania and
Bulgaria joined in 2007
Membership in the European Union became
especially attractive to countries in Central
Europe after the demise of the Soviet Union
STEPS IN CREATING THE EUROPEAN UNION
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Standards for EU membership:
- A country must achieve political stability and
have a democratically elected government
- Each country has to adjust its constitution to EU
standards
- Each must also have a functioning market
economy that is open to investment by foreignowned companies and that has well-controlled
banks
- Finally, farms and industries must comply with
strict regulations governing the finest details of
their products and the health of environments
STEPS IN CREATING THE EUROPEAN
UNION
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Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland have chosen
not to join the European Union
These three countries have long treasured their
neutral role in world politics
During the 2008–2009 recession, Iceland began
discussions to enter the European Union, but was
not immediately welcomed because of its
financial troubles. These have since been
resolved
Turkey is the next most likely candidate to join
the European Union
EU GOVERNING INSTITUTIONS
The European Union has one executive branch
and two legislative bodies
 The European Commission acts like an executive
branch of government
 Each of the 27 member states gets one
commissioner, who is appointed for a 5-year term
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EU GOVERNING INSTITUTIONS
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The European Parliament is directly elected by
EU citizens, with each country electing a
proportion of seats based on its population
The Parliament elects the president of the
European Commission, who serves for 2½ years
as a head of state and head of foreign policy
Laws must be passed in Parliament by 55
percent of the member states
EU GOVERNING INSTITUTIONS
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The Council of the European Union is similar to
the U.S. Senate in that it is the more powerful of
the two legislative bodies
Its members are not elected but consist of one
minister of government from each EU country
Minister assigned to attend depends on the
agenda: foreign affairs, agriculture, industry, the
environment, etc.
The Council of the European Union acts with
Parliament to enact legislation
ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AND
A COMMON CURRENCY
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European national economies were joined into a
common market
Companies in any EU country now have access to
a much larger market and the potential for larger
profits through economies of scale
The EU economy now encompasses close to 492
million people
Collectively, the EU countries are wealthy; their
joint economy was almost $15 trillion in 2008
ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AND A COMMON
CURRENCY
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The official currency of the European Union is
the euro (€)
Sixteen EU countries now use the euro
Countries that use the euro have a greater
voice in the creation of EU economic policies
Depending on global financial conditions,
either the euro or the U.S. dollar is the
preferred currency of international trade and
finance
THE EUROPEAN UNION AND
GLOBALIZATION
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The European Union is pursuing a number of
strategies designed to ensure that it continues to
be economically competitive
A primary focus is on keeping exports a central
component of national economies
One strategy is to relocate factories from the
wealthiest EU countries to the relatively poorer
Other strategies include holding down domestic
wages and emphasizing the quality of European
exports
NATO AND THE RISE OF THE EUROPEAN
UNION AS A GLOBAL PEACEMAKER
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A new role for the European Union as a global
peacemaker and peacekeeper is developing
through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO)
NATO originally included the United States,
Canada, the countries of western Europe, and
Turkey; it now includes almost all the EU
countries as well
With the United States preoccupied with Iraq,
NATO assumed more of a role as a global
peacekeeper
FOOD PRODUCTION AND
THE EUROPEAN UNION
Europeans prefer food from European farms to
imported food
 They pay more for food than do people in the
United States
 Most food is now produced on large mechanized
farms that are efficient
 Romania has over one-quarter of the farms in the
European Union
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THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM
(CAP)
The European Union established the Common
Agricultural Program (CAP), meant to guarantee
secure and safe food supplies at affordable prices
 The CAP aids farmers by placing tariffs on
imported agricultural goods and by giving
subsidies (payments to farmers) to underwrite
their costs of production, this putting nonEuropean farmers at a disadvantage
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GROWTH OF CORPORATE AGRICULTURE
AND FOOD MARKETING
As small family farms disappear, the trend is
toward consolidating smaller farms into larger,
more profitable operations
 These farms tend to employ very few laborers
and use more machinery and chemical inputs
 The move toward corporate agriculture is
strongest in Central Europe

EUROPE’S GROWING SERVICE ECONOMIES
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As industrial jobs have declined across the
region, most Europeans have found jobs in the
service economy
Services such as the provision of health care,
education, finance, tourism, and information
technology are now the engine of Europe’s
integrated economy
A major component of Europe’s service economy
is tourism
EUROPE’S GROWING SERVICE ECONOMIES
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Europe is the most popular tourist destination in
the world
One job in eight in the European Union is related
to tourism
Tourism generates 13.5 percent of the EU’s gross
domestic product
Service occupations increasingly involve the use
of technology
Europe leads the world in cell phone use
POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND
URBANIZATION
There are currently about 525 million Europeans
 492 million live within the European Union
 Europe is one of the more densely occupied
regions on earth
 Most of this population now lives in cities
 These cities are the focus of the modern
European economy
 However, there is a healthy and viable rural
culture

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND
URBANIZATION
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In West, North, and South Europe, more than 75
percent of the population lives in urban areas
Even in Central Europe, the least urbanized part
of the region, around 70 percent of people live in
cities
Nearly all the cities in Europe have expanded
around their perimeters in concentric circles of
apartment blocks
Land is scarce and expensive in Europe, so only a
small percentage of Europeans live in singlefamily homes
EUROPE’S AGING POPULATION
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Europe’s population is aging as families are
choosing to have fewer children and life
expectancies are increasing
Life expectancies now range close to 80 years in
North, West, and South Europe
Those 14 years and under declined from 27
percent to 15 percent, while those over 65
increased from 9 percent to 16 percent between
1960 and 2009
Overall, Europe is now close to a negative rate of
natural increase
EUROPE’S AGING POPULATION
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By 2000, twenty-five percent of Europeans were
choosing to have no children at all
The reasons for these trends are complex
More and more women want professional careers
25 percent of Germans are choosing to remain
unmarried well into their thirties
Governments also make few provisions for
working mothers beyond paid maternity leave
IMMIGRATION AND MIGRATION:
NEEDS AND FEARS
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Until the mid-1950s, the net flow of migrants was
out of Europe
By the 1990s the net flow was into Europe
In the 1990s, most of the European Union
implemented the Schengen Accord, an agreement
that allows free movement of people and goods
across common borders
The accord has facilitated trade, employment,
tourism, and most controversially migration
ATTITUDES TOWARD INTERNAL AND
INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS AND CITIZENSHIP
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Europeans have ambivalent attitudes toward
migrants
The internal flow of migration is mostly from
Central Europe into North, West, and South
Europe
These Central European migrants are mostly
treated fairly, although prejudices against the
supposed backwardness of Central Europe are
still evident
ATTITUDES TOWARD INTERNAL AND
INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS AND CITIZENSHIP
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Immigrants from outside Europe, so-called
international immigrants, meet with varying
acceptance
International immigrants often come legally and
illegally from Europe’s former colonies and
protectorates across the globe
Many Turks and North Africans come legally as
guest workers who are expected to stay for only a
few years
ATTITUDES TOWARD INTERNAL AND
INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS AND CITIZENSHIP
Central and South Europe are the least tolerant
of new immigrants
 North and West Europe, with higher incomes and
generally more stable economies, are the most
tolerant
 Cultural issues also influence attitudes toward
immigrants

ATTITUDES TOWARD INTERNAL AND
INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS AND CITIZENSHIP
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Across Europe, anti-immigration views,
especially toward non-Europeans, are becoming
more common
Mainstream politicians increasingly support
stricter controls
In response, the European Union is increasing its
efforts to curb illegal immigration from outside
Europe while at the same time helping EU
citizens to be more tolerant
ATTITUDES TOWARD INTERNAL AND
INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS AND CITIZENSHIP
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Anti-foreigner sentiment has been a hindrance to
acquiring citizenship across Europe
In 2004, more than 650,000 became citizens of an
EU country; the largest numbers were in
Germany, France, and the UK
Citizenship usually requires an extended period
of legal residency, evidence of a good work record,
and proficiency in the country’s main language
RULES FOR ASSIMILATION:
MUSLIMS IN EUROPE
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In Europe, culture plays a larger role in defining
differences between people than race and skin
color
Assimilation in Europe usually means giving up
the home culture and adopting the ways of the
new country
Muslims, presently the focus of assimilation
issues in the European Union, have lived in
Europe in small pockets for well over 1000 years
RULES FOR ASSIMILATION:
MUSLIMS IN EUROPE
Muslims have largely assimilated thoroughly to,
and identify with, their home countries
 Some have clung to traditional dress, gender
roles, and religious values, while others have
accepted and practice European culture
 There has been significant controversy in France
over the banning of the wearing of chadors in
public places
 There has also been targeted acts of violence
against immigrants

CHANGING GENDER ROLES
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•
•
Gender roles in Europe have changed
significantly from the days when most women
married young and worked in the home or on the
family farm
Increasing numbers of European women are
working outside the home
Nevertheless, European public opinion among
both women and men largely holds that women
are less able than men to perform the types of
work typically done by men
CHANGING GENDER ROLES
Male advantages have a stronger hold in Central
and South Europe today than they do in West
and North Europe
 Working women usually face what is called a
double day: they are expected to do most of the
domestic work in the evening in addition to their
job outside the home during the day
 Many EU policies encourage gender equality

CHANGING GENDER ROLES
•
•
•
•
•
Managers in the EU bureaucracy are increasingly
female
Well over half the university graduates in Europe are
now women
However, the political influence and economic wellbeing of European women lag behind those of
European men
In most European national parliaments, women make
up less than a third of elected representatives
Although change is clearly underway in the European
Union, women generally serve only in the lower ranks
of government
CHANGING GENDER ROLES
Because women are largely absent from policymaking positions, their progress has been slow on
many fronts
 In 2006, female unemployment was higher than
male unemployment in all but a few countries
 Throughout the European Union, women are
paid less than men for equal work

SOCIAL WELFARE SYSTEMS
AND THEIR OUTCOMES
•
•
•
In nearly all European countries, tax-supported
systems of social welfare or social protection (the
EU term) provide all citizens with basic needs
Europeans generally pay much higher taxes than
North Americans, and in return they expect more
in services
The European Union has more doctors and
hospital beds per citizen and better outcomes
than the United States in terms of life expectancy
and infant mortality
SOCIAL WELFARE SYSTEMS
AND THEIR OUTCOMES
•
•
•
•
Europeans do not agree on the goals of these
welfare systems
Some argue that Europe can no longer afford
high taxes if it is to remain competitive in the
global market
Others maintain that Europe’s economic success
and high standards of living are the direct result
of the social contract
The debate has been resolved differently in
different parts of Europe
SOCIAL WELFARE SYSTEMS
AND THEIR OUTCOMES

European welfare systems can be classified into
four basic categories:
- Social democratic welfare systems
- Conservative and modest welfare systems
- Rudimentary welfare systems
- Post-communist welfare systems