Political Changes In Europe

Political Changes in Europe: Causes

Major political changes in Europe were accompanied by social and cultural counterparts. The causes were complex in each case. For example, the poor labor conditions of the Industrial Revolution gave rise to the socialist ideology, which advocated for workers' rights.

The Baptism of Constantine, Raphael's assistants, 1517-1524, Sala di Costantino, Raphael Rooms, Apostolic Palace, Vatican City. Source: Vatican Museums, Wikipedia Commons (public domain).

Political Changes in Europe: Timeline

The following timelines of political developments in Europe will give you an overview of the most momentous events and their impact on the political structure of the continent. Mind that all dates are from the Common Era (C.E.).

Political Changes in Europe: Examples

Significant social and political changes in Europe occurred for different reasons. These reasons ranged from adopting a state religion, Christianity, by the Roman Empire, to the technological advancements of the Industrial Revolution.

Political Structure of Medieval Europe

The Middle Ages was a thousand-year-long period that began as the Roman Empire declined in the 5th century and lasted until approximately the 15th century. This long era had several shared features despite some chronological and cultural differences.

The preferred political and economic system at this time was feudalism. Feudalism was dominant in agricultural societies, where the nobility exchanged land and military protection for labor and servitude.

Pope Innocent III, Monastery of Sacro Speco of Saint Benedict - Subiaco, Rome, mid-13th century. Source: Wikipedia Commons (public domain).

The system of primogeniture, in which the inheritance went only to the oldest son, allowed to keep the land intact rather than dividing it between the heirs. This system created a class of landless knights. Some of these knights participated in the Crusades—military-religious campaigns to reclaim the Holy Land (Middle East) between the late 11th and 13th centuries.

Religion served as a focal point for Medieval society. Gradually, the system of feudalism declined. The Church lost some of its power, especially during the Protestant Reformation.

Political Changes during the Industrial Revolution in Europe

The Industrial Revolution is usually divided into two pivotal periods: the First Industrial Revolution (1760 to 1830) and the Second Industrial Revolution (1870-1914). Many social changes occurred at this time:

• technological advancement;
• creation and growth of the working class;
• urbanization;
• manufacturing of more affordable consumer goods;
• infrastructural development;
• public transportation and the development of railways;
• improvements in urban sanitation;
• development of modern weapons and warfare methods.

The Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace, Hyde Park, London, by William Simpson (lithographer), 1851. The Crystal Palace was built using new technologies such as sheet glass. Source: Wikipedia Commons (public domain).

• Labor conditions were initially poor and unsafe, especially in places like Britain. Noteworthy 19th-century thinkers like Karl Marx criticized this economic system: capitalism. These social conditions and Marx's intellectual framework brought left-wing movements and socialist ideologies.

Socialist thinkers and activists sought to improve the labor conditions and attain fundamental rights for the working class. Eventually, these changes took place from the late 19th and into the 20th century, including:

• 8-hour work day;
• elimination of child labor;
• improved workplace safety;
• old-age pensions;
• workers' compensation

The rise of moderate and radical socialist movements and parties also impacted Europe. These parties made the 20th-century parliaments more representative. But in other places like Russia, a complete change of political and social order took place, e.g., the 1917 Russian Revolution based on Marx's ideas.

This was also a period when nation-states emerged. In theory, nation-states were meant to comprise people united by the same language, culture, religion, and, at times, ethnicity.

Political Changes in Europe after WW2

The Cold War (1945-1991) was a period of bipolarity when the world was divided between two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR). They did not engage in war directly but through indirect—proxy—conflicts. The U.S. and the USSR each had their own military alliance, NATO and the Warsaw Pact, respectively. At times, Europeans were unable to make their own independent decisions because Western Europeans were dominated by American hegemony, and Eastern Europeans were in the Soviet sphere of influence.

One of the main aspects of the Cold War was the development of nuclear weapons and the growth of their arsenals. These powerful arms were meant to act as a deterrent.

U.S. nuclear weapon test "Mike," Enewetak Atoll, Operation Ivy, 1952. Source: National Nuclear Security Administration, Wikipedia Commons (public domain).

The Cold War was also when Europeans lost their overseas colonies during decolonization. This process was sometimes violent, as was the case with the former French colony, Indochina—Vietnam—and the prolonged war in Southeast Asia.

Eventually, the Cold War order collapsed between 1989 and 1991. The European Union emerged in 1993 as a way to unify the continent politically and economically.