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Westernization can also be related to the process of acculturation. Acculturation refers to the changes that occur within a society or culture when two different groups come into direct continuous contact. After the contact, changes in cultural patterns within either or both cultures are evident. More specifically, Westernization refers to the effects of Western expansion and colonialism on native societies.

For example, natives who wear store-bought clothing, learn European languages, and otherwise adopt characteristic Western customs are called acculturated or Westernized. Westernization may be forced or voluntary depending on the situation of the contact.

Different degrees of domination, destruction, resistance, survival, adaptation, and modification of the native culture, follows interethnic contact. In a situation where the native culture experiences destruction as a result of a more powerful outsider, a “shock phase” often is a result from the encounter. This shock phase is especially characteristic during interactions involving expansionist or colonialist eras. During the shock phase, civil repression using military force may lead to a cultural collapse, or ethnocide, which is a culture’s physical extinction. Often, the intruders will attempt to remake the native culture within their own image, ignoring the fact that the models of culture that they have created are inappropriate for settings outside of western civilization. (Phillip, Conrad. (2005). Window on Humanity. New York: McGraw-Hill) Ethnocide is a concept related to genocide; unlike genocide, which has entered into international law, ethnocide remains primarily the province of sociologists, who have not yet settled on a single cohesive meaning for the term. ...

Definition of the West

Main article: Western civilization For alternative meanings for The West in the United States, see the U.S. West and American West. ...

Territorial

The West was originally defined as Western Europe, but most modern uses of the term refer to the societies of Western and Central Europe and their close genealogical, linguistic, and philosophical colonial descendants, typically included are those countries whose ethnic identity and dominant culture are derived from European culture. The Culture of Europe might better be described as a series of overlapping cultures of Europe. ...

The Western civilization can be defined as at least North-America, West and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand. North America includes the U.S.A., Canada and Greenland (as part of Denmark). Widening this definition however suscites controversy. This widened definition can include these countries, or a combination of these countries: World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Western Europe is distinguished from Eastern Europe by differences of history and culture rather than by geography. ... Regions of Europe Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... World map showing Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ...

• Eastern Europe. Some people add Eastern Europe to the definition of the West, as it has in many ways the same roots as Western Europe. This view increasingly gains support, especially since the disintegration of communism and the current European integration process that is a direct result of that disintegration. Others however, like the American political scientist Samuel P. Huntington, consider the Orthodox Christian part of Europe as different from the West.

• Israel. Some people add Israel to the Western civilization, as about 2/3 of all Jews worldwide live in the West, as the Western culture is rooted in a Jewish-Christian tradition, because the Jewish community has strong historical and cultural ties with Europe, and because of Israelian membership of European organizations (like FIFA and the Eurovision song contest).

• Turkey. Turkey is considered by some as Muslim and European (Western). The shared history, the membership of certain European organizations, the membership of NATO and the wish to become part of the European Union could be regarded as signs that this is the case.

• Latin-America. Some people regard Latin-America as a Westernized part of the world (language, culture, etc.), and so a part of the Western world. Many native (sub)cultures and languages remain in this part of the world however.

• Japan. Japan is sometimes considered Western, as this country supported the West during the Cold War, has a similar economic system and welfare, is a stable democracy, protects human rights, is member of typical Western organizations (like the OECD), etc. The cultural aspect is neglected in this definition however. Japan has an unique culture with distinct non-Western traits.

• South Africa.

Current division of Europe into five (or more) regions: one definition of Eastern Europe is marked in orange Eastern Europe as a region has several alternative definitions, whereby it can denote: the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Central Europe and Russia. ... Samuel Phillips Huntington (born April 18, 1927) is a political scientist known for his analysis of the relationship between the military and the civil government, his investigation of coup detats, and his thesis that the central political actors of the 21st century will be civilizations rather than nation-states. ... The term Orthodox Christian refers to two Christian traditions: Oriental Orthodoxy, which separated from the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church in the 5th century; Eastern Orthodoxy, which the Roman Catholic church separated from in 1054 was the church that was started by the apostles. ... The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, universally known by its acronym FIFA, is the international governing body of football (soccer). ... Old-style (pre-1994) Eurovision Song Contest starburst logo. ... The NATO flag NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, D.C., on April 4... This topic is considered to be an essential subject on Wikipedia. ... The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organization of those developed countries that accept the principles of representative democracy and a free market economy. ...

Personal

A different view on the Western world is not defining it by its territorium, but by its people, as these tend to differ in an increasingly globalized world. This view highlights the non-Western population in countries with a Western majority, or vice versa. The Boers for instance can be regarded as Western inhabitans of South Africa. Afrikaners are white South Africans of predominantly Calvinist Dutch, German, French Huguenot, Friesian and Walloon descent who speak Afrikaans. ...

Differences

It would be incorrect to regard the Western world as a monolythic bloc, as there exist many cultural, linguistic, religious, political, and economical differences between Western countries and populations.

Process of Westernization

Colonization (1492-1960s)

Main article: Colonialism World map of colonialism at the end of the Second World War in 1945. ...

Europeanization

From 1492 onward, European imperialism and colonialism spread gradually over the world, colonizing almost every part of the world. During this period a strong influence was exerciced on the indigineous cultures. During this period, many colonies indingenous populations have willingly or have been forced to assimilate certain elements of European culture, like the language of the European motherland or the Christian religion. In many cases the indigenous population was supplanted or marginalized by European (and African) immigrants. Imperialism is a policy of extending control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires, either through direct territorial conquest or through indirect methods of exerting control on the politics and/or economy of other countries. ... As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ...

The two World Wars weakened the European powers in such extent that many colonies strived for independence, often inspired by nationalistic movements. A period of decolonization started. At the end of the 1960s, most colonies were autonomous. Those new states often adopted some aspects of Western culture, like for instance the adoption of constitution. A world war is a military conflict affecting the majority of the worlds major nations. ...

Reactions

Asia

A reaction to Westernisation can include fundamentalism and protectionism. Countries such as Japan and China tried to adopt isolationism, but they have been unable to resist the adoption of many aspects of Western culture. In comparative religion, fundamentalism has come to refer to several different understandings of religious thought and practice, including literal interpretation of sacred texts such as the Bible or the Quran and sometimes also anti-modernist movements in various religions. ... Protectionism is the economic policy of protecting a nations manufacturing base from the effects of foreign competition (such as including Dumping) by means of high tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and other means of reducing importation. ... International Relations Theory Realism Liberalism Idealism Neoconservatism Institutionalism Functionalism Marxism Critical theory Isolationism Isolationism is a foreign policy which combines a non-interventionist military and political policy with a policy of economic nationalism (protectionism). ...

Globalization (1960s-now)

Westernization is often regarded as a part of the ongoing process of globalization. The main characteristics are economic liberalization (free trade) and democratization, combined with the spread of an individualised culture. Often it was also regarded of the opposite of the worldwide influence of communism. After the break up of the USSR in 1991, many of its component states and allies nevertheless underwent Westernisation, including privatisation of hitherto state-controlled industry. Globalization is the term used to describe the changes in societies and the world economy that result from dramatically increased international trade and cultural exchange. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Westernization as globalization is seen by some as progress, as for instance democracy and free trade spread gradually throughout the world. Some people view westernisation however as a disadvantage, as for example Asian cultures who have traditionally existed on a primarily plant-based diet might lose this healthy lifestyle as more people in Asia switch to a Western-style diet that is rich in animal-based foods. (Cornell Times, 2001[1])

Consequences

America

Due to the European colonization, the American continent has gradually assimilated the European languages. In the U.S.A., Canada, Argentina and Uruguay almost the entire population has been replaced by European (and African) immigrants. In these countries there are thus almost no traces left of other cultures or languages. In countries like Mexico and Peru substantial indigenous populations were incorporated, though there remain some regions of traits of these cultures. For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ...

Linguistic

In short, it could be roughly said that on the American continent there are only four important languages: English (U.S.A. and Canada), Spanish (Latin-America except Brazil), Portuguese (Brazil) and French (Quebec, Canada). These languages are European in origin.

Religion

Christianity, which is dominant in Western society, has influenced countries around the world to use the Gregorian calendar, based on the birth of Jesus Christ. The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... The Gregorian calendar is the calendar that is used nearly everywhere in the world. ... Anno Domini Nostri Iesu Christi (In the Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ), commonly shortened to Anno Domini (In the Year of the Lord), abbreviated as AD or A.D., is the designation used to number years in the Christian Era, conventionally used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

See also

The West

• American culture
• European culture
• Western culture
• Western civilization
• Group of Eight (G8)
• OECD

This article very generally discusses the customs and culture of the United States; for the culture of the United States, see arts and entertainment in the United States. ... The Culture of Europe might better be described as a series of overlapping cultures of Europe. ... Leonardo da Vincis Vitruvian Man, for many a symbol of the changes of the Western culture during the Renaissance Western culture refers to the culture that has developed in the Western world. ... For alternative meanings for The West in the United States, see the U.S. West and American West. ... G-8 work session; July 20-22, 2001. ... The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organization of those developed countries that accept the principles of representative democracy and a free market economy. ...

Cultural influence

Europe and USA

Anglicisation (CwE) or Anglicization (NAE and CwE) is a process of making something English. ... Initially conceived as the process by which the political and buraucratic élites of the member-states of the European Union become more pro-European by virtue of their frequent interactions with European institutions and the élites of the other member-states. ... Francization is the process of giving a French character to something (a word, an organization) or someone. ... The term Hellenistic (established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen) in the history of the ancient world is used to refer to the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks, however scattered geographically, to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of whatever ethnicity, and from the political dominance... In linguistics, romanization or latinization is a system for representing a word or language with the Roman (Latin) alphabet, where the original word or language used a different writing system. ... Ancient Roman culture evolved throughout the thousand-year history of that civilization. ... Korenizatsiya (коренизация, sometimes called korenization), meaning nativization or indigenization, was the early Soviet ethnicity policy. ... Magyarization or Magyarisation is the common name given to a number of forced assimilation policies applied by the Hungarian authorities at different times in history. ... Polonization (Polish: ) is the assumption (complete or partial), of the Polish language or another real or supposed Polish attribute. ... Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attribute (whether voluntarily or not) by non-Russian communities. ... Derussification is the policy of the Goverments and the efforts of NGOs in the post-Soviet countries directed to overcome the consequencies of the Russification. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Other

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Colonialism. ... Globalization is the term used to describe the changes in societies and the world economy that result from dramatically increased international trade and cultural exchange. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Mundialization is all the ideas and actions expressing the solidarity of populations of the globe and aiming to establish institutions and supranational laws of a federative structure common to them, while respecting the diversity of cultures and peoples. ... Africanization, as used in this article, refers to the modification of place names or personal names to better reflect an African identity. ... World map showing location of Africa A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second_largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ... Islamization is a neologism coined to describe the process of a societys conversion to the religion of Islam, or the increase in observance by an already Muslim society. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( (help· info)), the peaceful submission to the will of God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... Arabization is the gradual transformation of an area into one that speaks Arabic and is part of the Arab culture. ... Arabic can mean: From or related to Arabia From or related to the Arabs The Arabic language; see also Arabic grammar The Arabic alphabet, used for expressing the languages of Arabic, Persian, Malay ( Jawi), Kurdish, Panjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Urdu, among others. ... For other uses, see Arab (disambiguation). ... Sinicization, or Sinification, is to make things Chinese. ... This is the current collaboration of the week! Please help improve it to featured article standard. ...

Other

• Anti-Americanism represents a hostility towards the government, culture, or people of the U.S.A.
• Democratic peace theory is a theory which holds that democracies (almost) never go to war with one another.
• Diseases of affluence are diseases thought to be a result of increasing wealth.
• North-South divide is the socio-economic division which exists between the wealthy developed "North" and the poorer developing "South".

• The Decline of the West (1918), written by Oswald Spengler.
• The End of History and the Last Man (1992), written by Francis Fukuyama.
• The Clash of Civilizations (1996), written by Samuel P. Huntington.