What is a “region”?
We can divide
the earth into numerous areas
(territories, spatial units, etc.). These areas or “regions” can be defined in
numerous terms: directional, geographical, historical, cultural,
administrative, political and economic.
“Region”
refers then to an area that has ONE or MORE of the following defining
characteristics:
- a location
relative to another (it is in the “West” of Europe for example);
- a particular
landscape (which makes it different from other landscapes);
- a degree of
physical separateness from other areas (an island for example);
- a particular
history (often, man-made features - old or recent - give the landscape its
character);
- a people with
a sometimes quite strong sense of identity (often with a dialect and cultural practices
and values that set it apart);
- a degree of
political, economic and/or administrative autonomy from a bigger (dominant)
area in which it is situated (e.g.
Scotland is a “country” within the United Kingdom);
- a population
which wants a greater degree of autonomy from a bigger area in which it is
situated (e.g. Catalonia);
- a political
and administrative jurisdiction (often dependent on a jurisdiction that is bigger
and that has power over it), i.e. it is a territory over which an authority
exercises its power (e.g. the Conseil Régional d’Auvergne, which is less
powerful than the French State);
- administrative
boundaries (these are changeable).
“Region” is a
term that can be used precisely, but a “region” is often loosely defined to
cover a vague reality: an area of indefinite size with no clearly defined
boundaries inhabited by a people with a nebulous notion of common history and
cultural identity (for example: “Auvergne” can refer to the administrative unit
called a “Région” as well as to a rather nebulous part of central France with a
particular landscape and a people with some shared cultural practices).
“Regions” in the context of Europe
In Europe,
“region” can refer to a part of the Continent according to its compass direction: Northern, Southern, Eastern,
Western, or Central Europe.
It can also
refer to historical divisions, for
example “Communist (Eastern) Europe” versus “Capitalist (Western) Europe”
during the Cold War period.
In geographical terms a “region” is a
particular area that has:
- physical
characteristics (which differentiate it from other areas);
- human-impact
characteristics (i.e. that result from how humans have adapted to or changed
their environment to meet their needs and wants).
(“Regional
geography” is the discipline that studies (describes) regions of all sizes
across the Earth).
The geographic regions of Europe (cf. GAME) as defined by their physical
characteristics are:
- Alpine countries: the Alps are in parts of Austria,
Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Germany, France, and Italy.
- Apennine Peninsula: Italy, San Marino, Vatican City
- Balkan Peninsula: includes all or part of Albania,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia,
Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey
- Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
- Benelux: Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg (aka the
Low Countries)
- British Isles: United Kingdom, Republic of
Ireland, Isle of Man (+ Guernsey, Jersey?)
- Carpathian Mountains: mostly in Romania
- Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, North Caucasus
- Danube countries: the River Danube flows through
Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Serbia,
Slovakia, Ukraine
- Dinaric Alps: in the Balkans
- Great European Plain: Poland, Germany, France
- Iberian Peninsula: Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, Andorra
- Iceland
- Mediterranean countries: European countries along the
Mediterranean Basin are Portugal, Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Slovenia,
Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Malta
- Nordic countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia,
Denmark, plus Iceland?
- Pyrenees Mountains: between Spain and France
- Russian Plain: covering Eastern Europe and Western Russia
- Scandinavia (Scandinavian Peninsula): Sweden,
Norway, Denmark
Political/economic regions of Europe:
“Region” can also
refer, in the European context, to the territory of a political/economic group,
for example:
- The region
made up of the 28 European Union
countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy,
Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom). Cf.
GAMES
- The region
made up of the 17 Eurozone countries
have the Euro as their common currency: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the
Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. Cf. GAMES
- The Schengen Area is a region within Europe
with no internal borders made up of 25 countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy,
Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland.
Other groups
There are
other pan-European groupings, economic, political, but also in other domains. The
“region” covered by a group is made up of its members (often States). Examples
are:
Three major regions
Contemporary
Europe is sometimes divided up into three
major regions, very broadly defined according to their geographical
location, economic power, and cultural particularities:
- North-West Europe: characterized by having the first
member countries of the EU, the most powerful agricultural, industrial,
business and financial infrastructure, and command centers of international
importance (London, Paris, Frankfurt). Population density is high, as are standards
of living.
- Mediterranean Europe: characterized by indebted States,
small to medium-sized businesses, and an active parallel economy. Economic and
demographic growth is slow.
- Central and Eastern Europe: poor former Communist
countries with slow demographic growth, recently integrated to the EU. EU
businesses make use of the cheap labor force and these countries benefit from EU Regional Policy funds.
Europe can
also be divided into central (dominant), dependent, and peripheral regions
according to economic, political and demographic criteria:
- The dominant region is the densely
populated and wealthy “blue banana” from Manchester to Milan with a strong concentration
of decision-making centers (major urban zones).
- The dependent regions are close to the “blue
banana”;
- The peripheral regions are further away
(cf. map and page 103 of the Terminale textbook).
Other criteria to define a “region” in the European context
Europe can be
divided into regions according to various other criteria such as:
- Population (number of people within an area
determines a statistical and administrative “level” in the NUTS, i.e. the Nomenclature of Territorial Units
for Statistics);
- Wealth: rich and poor regions (NUTS levels can be used
to show disparities of wealth, cf. document 1, page 102 of the Terminale
textbook);
- Political and administrative authority: the term
"region" refers to a territorial authority existing at the level
immediately below that of the central government, with its own political
representation in the form of an elected regional assembly (sub-national
authorities include regions, counties, provinces, municipalities and cities);
- Cross-border regions (territories that are in two
countries at once) are an initiative of the EU, they are called “Euroregions”
(e.g. the Biharia Euroregion
which is in both Hungary and Romania); the purpose of these regions is to
stimulate trans-national cooperation between two member states of the EU.
