There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks when decades happen."
The quote above is a famous statement attributed to the father of the 1917 Russian Revolution, Vladimir Lenin. Indeed, during its long history, Europe underwent several fundamental changes—paradigm shifts—politically, socially, culturally, and economically. For example, the decline of the Roman Empire gave rise to the Middle Ages. This was a period of agrarian feudalism, decentralized control by the nobility and the powerful western Church.
A paradigm shift is a period of fundamental change. For example, the transition from the geocentric to the heliocentric model in astronomy in the 16th century was a paradigm shift in science.
With the Renaissance, Protestant Reformation, and the Age of Discovery and Conquest, feudalism gradually faded, as did the control of the Church, but powerful monarchies remained. Later, the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution brought egalitarian ideas, followed by technological advancement, urbanization, the development of left-wing ideologies such as socialism, and the rise of nation-states. The 20th century was punctuated by two world wars and the Cold War, defined by the superpower rivalry between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
The Storming of the Bastille, French Revolution, 1789, Jean-Pierre Houël, Source: Bibliothèque nationale de France, Wikipedia Commons (public domain).
Political Changes in Europe: Causes
Major political changes in Europe were accompanied by social and cultural counterparts. The causes were complex in each case. For example, the poor labor conditions of the Industrial Revolution gave rise to the socialist ideology, which advocated for workers' rights.
The Baptism of Constantine, Raphael's assistants, 1517-1524, Sala di Costantino, Raphael Rooms, Apostolic Palace, Vatican City. Source: Vatican Museums, Wikipedia Commons (public domain).
Political Changes in Europe: Timeline
The following timelines of political developments in Europe will give you an overview of the most momentous events and their impact on the political structure of the continent. Mind that all dates are from the Common Era (C.E.).
| Date | Description |
| 4th century | Emperor Constantine the Great adopts Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire in 312. |
| 5th century | The Roman Empire declines and is systematically attacked by Germanic tribes. In 476, Odoacer, a Germanic leader, dethrones the last western Roman emperor. The Byzantine Empire in the east lives on. |
| 5th century-15th century | The Middle Ages is a thousand-year-long period in European history defined by feudalism, landed aristocracy, and the power of the western Church. |
| l15th-18th centuries | The Age of Discovery and Conquest begins in Europe. Explorers, missionaries, conquerors, and scientists sail abroad and establish colonies. This period is the first major wave of European colonialism. |
| 16th century | The Protestant Reformation swept across Europe as the critics of the Catholic Church sought to return to the roots of Christianity. Martin Luther nails his 95 Theses in 1517 to the doors of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany. |
| 15th-16th centuries | In the age of Renaissance art and humanism, artists shift to realistic art, and intellectuals away from the Medieval focus on theology. This is also the beginning of the Scientific Revolution in various fields, such as astronomy which replaces the ancient Greek and medieval European approach to science with empirical observation. |
| 1648 | The Peace of Westphalia after the devastating Thirty Years' War (1618-1638) marks a major change in foreign policy and international relations. This agreement focused on an abstract balance of power rather than specific ruling dynasties. |
| 17th-18th centuries | The Enlightenment is a period of intellectual and cultural transformation in European history that focuses on social and scientific progress and questions traditional institutions such as the Church and absolute monarchy. |
| 1789 | The French Revolution overthrew the monarchy to establish a new social and political order and, initially, values freedom and equality. The Revolution causes a reaction domestically and in other European countries. |
| 1815 | The Congress of Vienna after the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) establishes a congress system for the European powers to prevent future wars and maintain the balance of power through the Concert of Europe. |
| 1760-1830; 1870-1918 | The First and Second Industrial Revolutions resulted in significant technological development that changed society in many ways. These changes range from urbanization and the growth of the working class to the development of left-wing ideologies such as socialism. |
| 1848 | The Revolutions of 1848 swept across dozens of European countries, demanding liberalization and different types of social reform. In the short term, they fail. |
| 19th century | The rise of nation-states began, including Belgium, Greece, Italy, and Germany. |
| 1914-1918 | World War I resulted in approximately 25 million deaths and a radical change in Europe's social and political order, including the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian Empires. |
| 20th century | The period of decolonization began after World War I and lasted throughout the 20th century. During this process, dozens of former European colonies sought and established independent states. |
| 1939-1945 | World War II took an estimated 70-85 million lives and gave rise to two superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States. |
| 1945-1991 | The Cold War was an ideological conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union that split the world in half. |
| 1993 | The European Union (E.U.) is founded. As of 2022, the E.U. comprises 27 member states. |
Political Changes in Europe: Examples
Significant social and political changes in Europe occurred for different reasons. These reasons ranged from adopting a state religion, Christianity, by the Roman Empire, to the technological advancements of the Industrial Revolution.
Political Structure of Medieval Europe
The Middle Ages was a thousand-year-long period that began as the Roman Empire declined in the 5th century and lasted until approximately the 15th century. This long era had several shared features despite some chronological and cultural differences.
The preferred political and economic system at this time was feudalism. Feudalism was dominant in agricultural societies, where the nobility exchanged land and military protection for labor and servitude.
The farmer's land was called a fief, whereas farmers were vassals.
Pope Innocent III, Monastery of Sacro Speco of Saint Benedict - Subiaco, Rome, mid-13th century. Source: Wikipedia Commons (public domain).
The system of primogeniture, in which the inheritance went only to the oldest son, allowed to keep the land intact rather than dividing it between the heirs. This system created a class of landless knights. Some of these knights participated in the Crusades—military-religious campaigns to reclaim the Holy Land (Middle East) between the late 11th and 13th centuries.
The secular authority—the nobles and the royalty—were somewhat decentralized. Some historians suggested that Medieval society had three estates: the nobility (bellatores), the Church (oratores), and the peasantry traders and farmers (laboratores).
Religion served as a focal point for Medieval society. Gradually, the system of feudalism declined. The Church lost some of its power, especially during the Protestant Reformation.
Political Changes during the Industrial Revolution in Europe
The Industrial Revolution is usually divided into two pivotal periods: the First Industrial Revolution (1760 to 1830) and the Second Industrial Revolution (1870-1914). Many social changes occurred at this time:
- technological advancement;
- creation and growth of the working class;
- urbanization;
- manufacturing of more affordable consumer goods;
- infrastructural development;
- public transportation and the development of railways;
- improvements in urban sanitation;
- development of modern weapons and warfare methods.
The Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace, Hyde Park, London, by William Simpson (lithographer), 1851. The Crystal Palace was built using new technologies such as sheet glass. Source: Wikipedia Commons (public domain).
- Labor conditions were initially poor and unsafe, especially in places like Britain. Noteworthy 19th-century thinkers like Karl Marx criticized this economic system: capitalism. These social conditions and Marx's intellectual framework brought left-wing movements and socialist ideologies.
Socialist thinkers and activists sought to improve the labor conditions and attain fundamental rights for the working class. Eventually, these changes took place from the late 19th and into the 20th century, including:
- 8-hour work day;
- elimination of child labor;
- improved workplace safety;
- old-age pensions;
- workers' compensation
The rise of moderate and radical socialist movements and parties also impacted Europe. These parties made the 20th-century parliaments more representative. But in other places like Russia, a complete change of political and social order took place, e.g., the 1917 Russian Revolution based on Marx's ideas.
This was also a period when nation-states emerged. In theory, nation-states were meant to comprise people united by the same language, culture, religion, and, at times, ethnicity.
- Belgium (1831);
- Greece (1832);
- Italy (1871);
- Germany (1871)
Political Changes in Europe after WW2
The Cold War (1945-1991) was a period of bipolarity when the world was divided between two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR). They did not engage in war directly but through indirect—proxy—conflicts. The U.S. and the USSR each had their own military alliance, NATO and the Warsaw Pact, respectively. At times, Europeans were unable to make their own independent decisions because Western Europeans were dominated by American hegemony, and Eastern Europeans were in the Soviet sphere of influence.
One of the main aspects of the Cold War was the development of nuclear weapons and the growth of their arsenals. These powerful arms were meant to act as a deterrent.
U.S. nuclear weapon test "Mike," Enewetak Atoll, Operation Ivy, 1952. Source: National Nuclear Security Administration, Wikipedia Commons (public domain).
The Cold War was also when Europeans lost their overseas colonies during decolonization. This process was sometimes violent, as was the case with the former French colony, Indochina—Vietnam—and the prolonged war in Southeast Asia.
Decolonization:
Decolonization is the process by which the former European colonies, such as India and Vietnam, gradually gained independence.
Eventually, the Cold War order collapsed between 1989 and 1991. The European Union emerged in 1993 as a way to unify the continent politically and economically.
Political Changes In Europe - Key Takeaways
- Major political developments in Europe include the decline of the Roman Empire; the development of feudalism in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, Protestant Reformation, and the Age of Discovery and Conquest; the Enlightenment and the French Revolution; the Industrial Revolution, world wars and decolonization; the Cold War and bipolarity; and the establishment of the European Union.
- Major political changes can be described as paradigm shifts transforming social and cultural trends.
- Each change in political and social order had complex causes.
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