Politics of Europe

The politics of Europe deals with the continually evolving politics within the continent of Europe. It is a topic far more detailed than other continents due to a number of factors including the long history of nation states in the region as well as the modern day trend towards increased political unity amongst the European states.

The current politics of Europe can be traced back to historical events within the continent. Likewise geography, economy and culture have contributed to the current political make-up of Europe.

Modern European politics is dominated by the European Union, since the fall of the Iron Curtain and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc of Communist states. After the end of the Cold War, the EU expanded eastward to include the former Communist countries. As of 2017, the EU has 28 member states.

Despite vastly improved relations between Russia and the Western European states since the end of the cold war, recently tensions have risen over the spread of "Western" organisations, particularly the EU and NATO, eastwards into former USSR states.

Most European states have either joined, or stated their ambition to join, the European Union.

There are few conflicts within Europe, although there remain problems in the Balkans, the Caucasus, Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom and the Basque Country in Spain.

According to 2007 data published in 2008 by Freedom House, the countries of Europe that cannot be classified liberal electoral democracies are Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, Kazakhstan and Russia.

...
Wikipedia