Europe, a prominent conti-
nent, essentially consisting of developed nations, has a population of over 50
crore. It has two parts - the Western Europe, championing the cause
of democracy and personal freedom and the Eastern Europe,
predominantly made up of the erstwhile USSR and its former allies.
The second world war resulted in the severe destruction
of many parts of Europe. France and Germany, the historic
enemies, realized eventually that peaceful co-existence is the key for
prosperity and progress, rather than prolonged and destructive
wars which left nobody as a conqueror. However, the war has created
a bipolar world, ideologically very different, divided between the
soviet union and the US.
With market economy gaining prominence and with the
collapse of the former USSR, many socialist bloc countries have
started transiting into democratic systems wedded to the principle
of capitalism, slowly but surely. In a unipolar world, with the US as
the only supercop, such a transition has indeed become inevitable
and unopposed. |
