Modern Political Climate
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 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 Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Russia.
Read more about this topic: Politics Of Europe
Famous quotes containing the words modern, political and/or climate:
“Grief that is dazed and speechless is out of fashion: the modern woman mourns her husband loudly and tells you the whole story of his death, which distresses her so much that she forgets not the slightest detail about it.”
—Jean De La Bruyère (1645–1696)
“There seems no reason why patriotism and narrowness should go together, or why intellectual fairmindedness should be confounded with political trimming, or why serviceable truth should keep cloistered because not partisan.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“Certainly parents play a crucial role in the lives of individuals who are intellectually gifted or creatively talented. But this role is not one of active instruction, of teaching children skills,... rather, it is support and encouragement parents give children and the intellectual climate that they create in the home which seem to be the critical factors.”
—David Elkind (20th century)