Where Does Europe End and Why - Essay Example

s School Where does Europe end and Why? “Where does Europe end” is one of the most pressing European problems for sociologistsand political scientists alike in the European studies discourses, as variables like globalization and the change in identities are changing the definitions to a great extent. The geographical location of Europe and its borders are easy to be traced traditionally, however, if these traditional definitions are incorporated in the modern discourses the explanations remains flawed. The economic and political boundaries of “Europe” are hard to be specified, also subject to change with the expected developments. The boundaries which constitute Europe are thus vague, rather dynamic as Delanty and Rumsfeld (2005) indicate, i.e. Europe is still going through an economic as well as political transformation whereby it is struggling to incorporate the spaces surrounding the traditional Europe as buffer regions, stability of which is crucial for the sustainability of European states. The European Union is consistently going through a transition which is further expected to enlarge after the incorporation of Turkey into the European Union. In this case, according to the social theory model of EU proposed by Delanty and Rumsfeld (2005), the boundary in further going to be enhanced creating a further confusion about the end of Europe. The paper aims at answering the question in geographical as well as in economical, political and sociological perspectives to give the most valid explanations about where does Europe actually end. The paper intend on arguing that the boundaries of Europe in its true sense extend beyond the Russian as well as Turkish borders. To further draw patterns and conclusions across variables, it is important to assess the traditional borders of Europe which the geographers have relied upon for years. According to the geographers, Europe is divided from Asia at the East from Ural Mountains and seas, whereas it is surrounded by watersheds on other sides. By this explanation, Europe ends somewhere around Russia at its East, and in Turkey around it`s South East where Asia or rather Middle East begins. This is where the problems still lie. Russia and Turkey both are located about halfway in Europe, thus it becomes difficult to assess where the other continents begin. Geography can`t be studied keeping political and sociological angles aside, thus when these factors are also considered it becomes difficult to decide where Europe ends. It can however be concluded, for the purpose of eliminating confusion that Europe ends when Russia ends or Europe ends where Turkey`s border is1. However, in this era of energy interdependence, strict immigration laws, the enlargement efforts of EU, not to mention politicization of issues, this generalization can produce various implications and debates internationally. For this reason, one has to be very careful before making any kinds of generalizations. European Union has a very important role to play in the context of the European territorial problem, as it has undergone many phases of enlargement which are still under process. This enlargement will in turn give way to new borders, rather dynamic spaces as termed by Delanty and Rumsfeld (2005) which are going to give way to new states to apply for EU membership, again generating a debate over where does Europe end. To further understand the context of the limitations of the European territory, it is important to understand the historical perspectives of the enlargement patterns of European Union. By doing this, the reasons for enlargement can be analyzed and further predictions can be made about the future enlargement policies. Further on, the Turkish issue and future involvement in European affairs can also be analyzed in the continuity of this discussion. The basis for European Union stands to be the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) which was founded in 1951, and the formation is believed to be based solely on economic grounds, however political grounds can also be traced. This was an initial consortium between six European states, i.e. Belgium, West Germany, Luxembourg, France, Italy and Netherlands. These states further reached agreements over Energy and other economic issues and signed the Treaty of Rome, along with European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) also the European Economic Community (EEC). A huge milestone was reached in 1992 when 12 European states agreed upon a single monetary consortium under the EMU (European Monetary Union). This indicated a pattern of strong integration and enlargement. However, the proposal was further extended and a scheme for constitutional mergence of European States was also suggested which was vetoed by the Dutch and the French, other a United States of Europe might have been produced. (Canbazuglo and Kaiser 2006) Up till now, five enlargements have taken place, the first in 1973 when Ireland, Denmark and even Britain entered, the second when Greece joined in 1981, the third in 1986 where Portugal and Spain also joined in. The fourth and a recent one took place in 1995 where Austria, Finland and Sweden were incorporated. In 2004 however, many former Soviet republics became a part of the European Union. Turkey has however applied for membership, and according to many scholars it will eventually become a part of European Union. Before the fall of Soviet Union, the enlargement took place only in the Western sphere, however later; even the Eastern states were incorporated. Thus, this challenges the scope of European integration further blurring the borders distinguishing Europe. The purposes of the enlargement of Eastern states seem to be moral, i.e. EU didn’t want the iron curtain between the East and West to prevail, and also political i.e. the distinction can have strategic implications over Western Europe as the states might become instable. However, economic reasons can also be traced, as these Eastern states were also gateways to Central Asian energy sources. Apparently, the goal of the EU community appears to be the democracy promotion and the propagation of liberal values in the world surrounding Europe. Free market economy is the sole feature of the European Union, and the concept is now strongly intact with the EU naturally. Any EU state would naturally be a free market economy, open towards the world competition which ensures that their products will naturally be high on quality as they would have to compete in the world market, though EU economy would strongly favor the state apparatus as a crucial market mechanism. Also, a any state would only be applicable for EU membership if they comply by all principals of democracy and have a good record of human rights in the state. These are thus the pre-requisites for membership which may even qualify the non-European states to be members of the European Union. Enlargement towards these states is a strong possibility given that all the requirements are being fulfilled. Turkey had a strong hold of military in their world affair though it was a democratic state. Also, there were instances of bad human rights records but after the application for membership towards EU; they have worked towards the goal of eliminating the role of military in the state affairs. Turkey has shown commendable records to qualify as a deserving member for the European Union. Though some members are still resistant towards Turkey on the grounds of its high population, Muslim character and inclusion in Middle Eastern Sphere, but conditions are eventually becoming favorable of Turkey. Social Theory Model needs to be assessed and applied in this situation to draw more reliable patterns and conclusions about the future of the European Union. This theory suggests that space determines the characteristic of a given society which is solely dependent on the territory. The theory has a few assumptions as its basic groundwork which are as follow; firstly, it suggests that various tensions exist between the pre-order traditional spaces and the new boundaries being transformed, secondly, with the blurring of the territories the relation of the boundaries with the outside world can be distinguished. Thirdly, the borders have become vague as nation states are no longer determinant of territories, and fourthly, more important that territories are the interrelationship between individuals and societies. Thus, conclusively territories are no longer the sole determinants of spaces which challenge the boundaries of EU and in turn of Europe as well. Furthermore, the same theory goes along to explain the implications portrayed by the ungoverned spaces which needs to be controlled, and the formation of buffer zones are further spheres of enlargement. Applying this theory over the European state of affairs, the question that “where does Europe end” will remain unanswered as there is no fixed answer and is subject to change. Europe is highly concerned about the states which form a ring around the present Europe, as any kind of instability in these states will be leaked towards Europe which would badly affect its economy as well as political situation. Thus, Europe would favor the maintenance of the instable states as these would be the buffer states, and thus this effort would eventually transfer the European Union traits into these states, which would be a starting point for enlargement. If this process goes on, European Union would enlarge to such an extent that the boundary of the presently labeled Europe will be crossed. Turkey is a living example of this phenomenon, as Turkey though an Islamic state still has a diplomatic relationship with Israel at the same time complying by all principals of a democratic state. With time, it will be incorporated into the European Union, and maybe then Syria or other states might apply for membership. In this context, it will become difficult to decide that where does Europe actually end. On one hand where a rigorous discussion over how enlargement owes much to the endless borders of Europe arises, on the other hand other discussions over European identity crises, constitutional reservations and a threat for instability in Europe negate this propositions, and suggests that the geographical borders are going to be the spaces where Europe ends. This is also not a merely simplistic model, as it includes various determinants. For instance, according to Canbazuglo and Kaiser (2006), deterrence has various threats which include migration from states with a high unemployment rate (e.g. Poland) to the states where economic conditions are good which would lead towards imbalance in the entire region. Similarly, they point out the fact that excessive enlargement would definitely lower the standards of social indicators like health, education etc. These and even other issues, of which the European Union decision makers are fully aware, will lead towards deterrence in excessive enlargement and thus. The present geographical borders would keep defining where Europe is going to end. Moreover, Cerrutti and Lucarelli (pp 176- 192) address the issues of Europe with the political legitimacy which were specified under the constitution to which originally the actors agreed upon. However, with globalization and the enlargement mechanisms these legitimacy determinants are being challenged and various debates are going on. Turkey, for instance, hasn’t yet managed to acquire the EU membership because of certain constitutional barriers, and according to a few, these barriers may remain forever, and chances are that Turkey might just get a partial membership. Even in this situation the traditional geographical barriers of Europe will remain intact. Also, Eder and Giesen (2001) suggest four patterns for the citizenship for Europe, i.e. the legacy for the national identity, patterns for the socio-political citizenship prevailing in Europe, a transnational public sphere and the significance of certain boundary barriers for stability. This model also poses certain restrictions for the EU state, and deters it from further enlargement. Thus, again the argument that the traditional border for EU will remain intact remains the strongest of all. Speaking of the current trends in general, global recession is dominating the world and Europe is no exception. Thus, some people are debating that the saturation point is reaching even within Europe with economies being affected badly. In this context, enlargement may take an opposite turn, or if this wouldn’t be the case even then, further enlargement won`t take place as Europe most probably won`t be interested in incorporating economically weak economies to further deteriorate the conditions. However, at the same time with internet and globalization, e-commerce is dominating the world spectrum, the effects of which are difficult to encounter. Even the most isolated places like China and isolated and conservative states like Libya and Egypt have failed to escape the perils of social media revolutions. In this context, it can strongly be argued that no matter what happens, the phenomena of European enlargement is difficult to be stopped and thus the territory of Europe will keep expanding. Thus conclusively, the most reasonable answer to the question that where does Europe end lies currently in the perspective that anywhere beyond Russia and Turkey. There is an extensive explanation behind this proposition which involves various factors along. This has to be understood in terms of the European Union enlargement. Started off with just six states, EU managed to enlarge itself to a great extent. Despite the monetary union, it incorporated even the former Soviet Union Republic which indicates that the scope and mission of the EU are far from being limited. Turkey is also an important factor in this context, as it is also striving hard for EU membership as it is complying by all standards for a democratic state so far. Once Turkey is welcomed, other states who aren`t currently included in Europe will apply for the EU membership. Social theory also provides a model and supports this argument as it argues that there are no set boundaries for the space which a region takes, that merely depends on the social institutions and the aims behind them. European Union aims at developing buffer zones around the settled territories to protect the EU boundaries from being effected by instability and eventually these will also be included under the EU territory and the process will go on. On the other hand, some factors like identity crises in Europe, global recession, constitutional reservations and other determinants will deter EU from excessive enlargement. However, this is a weaker argument in this sense as the incorporation of so many states into EU already has diversified the identity patterns. Moreover, recent trends like globalization, e-commerce and social media are promoting transnational values around the world, and EU in this sense is the most adaptable version of all the unions as it is quick in adapting all kinds of trends. Thus, the enlargement is bound to take place and in future, the boundaries of EU will even be blurred and not to mention expanded. The answer to the question that, “where does Europe end” is that for now it ends somewhere beyond Russia and Turkey, however in future Europe is going to have endless borders. References: Gerard Delanty and Chris Rumford (2005) Rethinking Europe: Social Theory and the Implication of Europeanisation, London: Routeldge, Chapter 7 Klaus Eder and Benherd Giesen (eds) (2001) European Citizenship between National Legacies and Postnational Projects, Oxford: Oxford University Press Cerutti and Sonia Lucarelli (eds) The Search for a European Identity: Values, Policies and Legitimacy of the European Union’, London: Routledge, pp. 176-192 Ruziye Gülce CANBAZOGLU, Martin KAISER. WHERE DOES EUROPE END: A POLITICAL-ECONOMIC APPROACH TO AN ENLARGINGUNITED STATES OF EUROPE. thesis report, Ege University, 2006. "Where Does Europe End?" Where Does Europe End? Web. 13 May 2012. . Read More