A country is western because they say so natch. People today want to be part of the west because saying so makes them feel good. It is the prestige factor. For a more complicated anwser you need to identify what do you mean by "western". You could say that it was inheriting the legacy of Rome but then you would have to include all of Europe and a majority of the planet then. You can use the original term of Western, the countries of Western Europe and their interconnected heritage. Or if you define the west to be the historical greater French "cultural sphere" than I think that is a narrow enough definitive for the purposes of this thread. Does that make England and the English western? Yes, it entered the French cultural sphere in 1066 and never really left it though I'd argue it eventually outgrew it. The Low Countries, England, France, and if we want to include Spain and Portugal were part of "Western Europe" and conquered and incorporated much of the world into their empires by 1900. So by 1900 the cultural legacy of these countries already includes much of the world.
Because they want to be and say they are. Before the world wars though it was more complicated. The entire concept of Mitteleuropa in German nationalism is basically a rejection of the west in favor of Germany being its own cultural Sphere. If you look at a map at how many Germans there there were in Central Europe before 1939 than you have to admit maybe they had a point.
Losing WW1 and becoming a republic sort of crippled the concept of Mitteleuropa. But it was losing WW2 and being split between the Iron Curtain that killed the concept completely.
If the Soviets conquered all of Germany during WW2, than yes it is possible. Though after the Iron Curtan falls there will probably be a lot of young Germans who would identify as Western.
People still think of Austria, Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries as "western", and did so even during the Cold War. I think you'd need Germany to outright enter the Soviet sphere, to put it in a similar situation to Poland and Czechoslovakia (which are also fairly western in terms of longer-term history and culture).
... and in large parts 'changed' that with reformation. Therefore I would render your comment valid for post-reformation christian faiths as well.
why yes.. yes I would... even Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Greece.. these are all western styled nations with western values. maybe not as crazy as the USA .. but they are all what I would consider western nations, with varying degrees of success and their own local cultures
boy that is a great postcard for being western Does Western values even exist? Is not Western values just he values that dominate the West at a set point in time? That way the concept of Western values is ever changing.why yes.. yes I would... even Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Greece.. these are all western styled nations with western values. maybe not as crazy as the USA .. but they are all what I would consider western nations, with varying degrees of success and their own local cultures
speaking of western.. been to flint Michigan?
no idea.. I just no we all work.. many of us have kids and families.. we take care of them and nurture them.. we toil.. we laugh.. love.. cry.. our parents pass on.. we grow old and then we die..
