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Central Europe is a very old pre-war term not used nowdays.
Where are you getting this stuff from?
I have to say, you must be one of the most uninformed posters around here. Most of the time, your comments are completely unfounded and untrue. I hope people realise that when they read your posts.
In this case, the term Central Europe is actually gaining in popularity since the collapse of the USSR and plenty of people use it.
"He also thinks that Central Europe is a dynamical historical concept, not a static spatial one. For example, Lithuania, a fair share of Belarus and western Ukraine are in Eastern Europe today, but 250 years ago they were in Poland.[34]
"He also thinks that Central Europe is a dynamical historical concept, not a static spatial one. For example, Lithuania, a fair share of Belarus and western Ukraine are in Eastern Europe today, but 250 years ago they were in Poland.[34]
Thanks for that source, notice the second sentence:
Quote:
The term and widespread interest in the region itself came back into fashion[1] by the end of the Cold War, which had divided Europe politically into East and West, splitting Central Europe in half.[2][3]
Proves my point
Edit: oh and @ Glucorious, you might want to click on that link and read the section under "States":
It's very easy. It's not geographical term, since for example Vienna is more East than Prague but nobody put Vienna or Stockholm to Eastern Europe.
You can't play historical salad either, since for example Bohemia was part of holy roman empire since forever.
you cannot juggle with language either since Sorbs or Lusatians are speaking Slavic and Austro-Hungaria was spaking German.
It means it's political construct and guess what, people don't want to be associated with former oppressive regime of Soviet union that was consequence of WW2 - and guess who caused World War2?
So as you don't say N-word, cripple or retard, same way you don't call Central Europe Eastern, it's very easy, you can exercise it in front of the mirror. As a bonus you won't be considered ignorant
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You are talking about a past that 90 percent of Europeans ignore.
People remember the IRON CURTAIN, THE BERLIN WALL and the countries that were beyond those walls (no matter how western they are) are Eastern Europeans.
Again, Central Europe is a very old term, now used extensively by travelling agencies that want to remove the "eastern" word, but for 99 percent of the people they are East Europeans.
You are talking about a past that 90 percent of Europeans ignore.
People remember the IRON CURTAIN, THE BERLIN WALL and the countries that were beyond those walls (no matter how western they are) are Eastern Europeans.
Again, Central Europe is a very old term, now used extensively by travelling agencies that want to remove the "eastern" word, but for 99 percent of the people they are East Europeans.
What gives you the authority to speak on behalf of 99% of Europeans? If you haven't noticed, a good portion of that actually lives in Central/Eastern Europe. First you said nobody uses the term anymore, now you say it's used extensively by travel agencies? You don't have a clue of what you're talking about. The term Central Europe is commonly used in IR/Political Science discourse (I should know, I've written a dozen papers on it), among geographers (as you could see in the maps that were posted here) and most importantly of all, among European citizens (particularly those who live in Central Europe). Before you spout more of your ignorance on the subject, why don't you click on the link Konfetka provided and inform yourself a little? I'll highlight some sentences for you:
Quote:
The term and widespread interest in the region itself came back into fashion[1] by the end of the Cold War, which had divided Europe politically into East and West, splitting Central Europe in half.[2][3]
Yes, "usually". The CIA factbook and some others don't.
Exactly, "usually". That's quite different than what you said before:
Quote:
And who would say they are in Northern Europe? I don't think most people would. They would say Eastern Europe.
And I think we have established in the other thread (Netherlands vs. Denmark vs. Switzerland) that the CIA factbook isn't always accurate in its facts.
Many people in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and even Croatia claim they are a Western European country (because of roman catholism and poor picture of Eastern EU) but most (over 258.369.479) people in the West considers them as Eastern Europe!
GDP per capita is much lower in those countries (P.C.S.H.S.C.) than in Western Europe.
Many people in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and even Croatia claim they are a Western European country (because of roman catholism and poor picture of Eastern EU) but most (over 258.369.479) people in the West considers them as Eastern Europe!
Most don't consider themselves West-European but rather Central-European. You are right that religion* and the negative perception of Eastern Europe plays a part in this, but I would say the main reason is the historical connection to other Central-European countries (e.g. the Austro-Hungarian empire). They have a point. I personally don't think of any of the countries you listed as "East-European" (except maybe Croatia) but that may be because I study European Studies so I'm a bit more aware of the historical and cultural background of these countries (I don't mean that in a condescending way). It has changed my perception of things. For example, a few years ago I would have associated Austria with Western Europe, but now I think of it more as Central European.
*Although that doesn't go for all countries, I remember reading somewhere that the Czech Rep. is one of the most atheist countries in the world.
Quote:
GDP per capita is much lower in those countries (P.C.S.H.S.C.) than in Western Europe.
GDP per capita (PPP) in Slovenia: $28,073
GDP per capita (PPP) in Czech Republic: $24,950
GDP per capita (PPP) in Portugal: $23,262
GDP per capita (PPP) in Slovakia: $22,195
Central Europe is not as "poor" as many people seem to think and they are quickly catching up to the West. Compare these incomes to that of genuine EE countries:
...to name a few. That is another difference between Central Europe and Eastern Europe.
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