Westernization (orWesternisation, seespelling differences), alsoEuropeanisation oroccidentalization (from theOccident), is a process wherebysocieties come under or adopt what is considered to beWestern culture, in areas such asindustry,technology,science,education,politics,economics,lifestyle,law,norms,mores,customs,traditions,values,mentality,perceptions,diet,clothing,language,writing system,religion, andphilosophy. Duringcolonialism it often involved the spread ofChristianity.[1] A related concept isNorthernization, which is the consolidation or influence of theGlobal North.[2]
Westernization has been a growing influence across the world in the last few centuries, with some thinkers assuming Westernization to be the equivalent ofmodernization,[3] a way of thought that is often debated. The overall process of Westernization is often two-sided in that Western influences and interests themselves are joined with parts of the affected society, at minimum, to become a more Westernized society, with the putative goal of attaining a Western life or some aspects of it, while Western societies are themselves affected by this process and interaction with non-Western groups.
Westernization goes back toancient Greece.[citation needed] Later, theRoman Empire took on the first process of Westernization as it was heavily influenced by Greece and created a new culture based on the principles and values of ancient Greek society. The Romans emerged with a culture that grew into a new Western identity based on theGreco-Roman society. Westernization can also be compared toacculturation andenculturation. Acculturation is "the process of cultural and psychological change that takes place as a result of contact between cultural groups and their individual members".[4]
After contact, changes in cultural patterns are evident within one or both cultures. Specific to Westernization and the non-Western culture, foreign societies tend to adopt changes in their social systems relative to Western ideology, lifestyle, and physical appearance, along with numerous other aspects, and shifts in culture patterns can be seen to take root as a community becomes acculturated to Western customs and characteristics – in other words, Westernized. The phenomenon of Westernization does not follow any one specific pattern across societies as the degree of adaption and fusion with Western customs will occur at varying magnitudes within differentcommunities.[5] Specifically, the extent to which domination, destruction, resistance, survival, adaptation, or modification affect a native culture may differ following inter-ethnic contact.[6]
The West was originally defined as theWestern world. A thousand years later, theEast-West Schism separated theCatholic Church andEastern Orthodox Church from each other. The definition of Western changed as the West was influenced by and spread to other nations. Islamic and Byzantine scholars added to theWestern canon when their stores of Greek and Roman literature jump-started theRenaissance. TheCold War also reinterpreted the definition of the West by excluding the countries of the formerEastern Bloc. Today, most modern uses of the term refer to the societies in the West and their closegenealogical,linguistic, andphilosophical descendants. Typically included are those countries whose ethnic identity and dominant culture are derived fromWestern European culture. Though it shares a similar historical background, the Western world is not a monolithic bloc, as many cultural, linguistic, religious, political, and economic differences exist between Western countries and populations.
The following countries or regions experienced a significant influence by the process of Westernization:
Kishore Mahbubani's book entitledThe Great Convergence: Asia, the West, and the Logic of One World (Public Affairs), is very optimistic.[why?] It proposes that a new global civilization is being created. The majority of non-Western countries admire and adhere to Western living standards. It says this newly emerging global order has to be ruled through new policies and attitudes. He argues that policymakers all over the world must change their preconceptions and accept that we live in one world. The national interests must be balanced with global interests and the power must be shared. Mahbubani urges that only through these actions can we create a world that converges benignly.
Samuel P. Huntington posits a conflict between "the West and the Rest" and offers three forms of general action that non-Western civilizations can react toward Western countries.[23]
Mahbubani counters this argument in his other book,The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East. This time, he argues that Western influence is now "unraveling", withEastern powers such as China arising. He states:
…the 5.6 billion people who live outside the West no longer believe in the innate or inherent superiority of Western civilization. Instead, many are beginning to question whether the West remains the most civilized part of the world. What we are witnessing today…is the progressive unwrapping of these many layers of Western influences.[24]
He explains the decline of Western influence, stating reasons as to the loss of Western credibility with the rest of the world.
In contrast to territorial delineation, others, like the American political scientistSamuel P. Huntington inThe Clash of Civilizations, consider what is "Western" based on religious affiliation, such as deeming the majority-Western Christian part of Europe and North America the West, and creating 6 other civilizations, includingLatin America,Confucian, Japanese,Islamic,Hindu andSlavic-Orthodox, to organize the rest of the globe.[25] Huntington argued that after the end of theCold War, world politics had been moved into a new aspect in which non-Western civilizations were no more the exploited recipients of Western civilization but become another important actor joining the West to shape and move the world history.[26] Huntington believed that while the age ofideology had ended, the world had only reverted to a normal state of affairs characterized by cultural conflict. In his thesis, he argued that the primary axis of conflict in the future will be along cultural and religious lines.[27]
InOrientalismEdward Said views Westernization as it occurred in the process ofcolonization, an exercise of essentializing a "subject race" in order to more effectively dominate them. Said referencesArthur Balfour, the British Prime Minister from 1902 to 1905, who regarded the rise of nationalism in Egypt in the late 19th century as counterproductive to a "benevolent" system of occupational rule. Balfour frames his argument in favor of continued rule over the Egyptian people by appealing to England's great "understanding" of Egypt's civilization and purporting that England's cultural strengths complemented and made them natural superiors to Egypt's racial deficiencies. Regarding this claim, Said says, "Knowledge to Balfour means surveying a civilization from its origins to its prime to its decline – and of course, it means being able to...The object of such knowledge is inherently vulnerable to scrutiny; this object is a 'fact' which, if it develops, changes, or otherwise transforms itself...[the civilization] nevertheless is fundamentally, even ontologically stable. To have such knowledge of such a thing is to dominate it." The act of claiming coherent knowledge of a society in effect objectifies and others it into marginalization, making people who are classified into that race as "almost everywhere nearly the same." Said also argues that this relationship to the "inferior" races, in fact, works to also fortify and make coherent what is meant by "the West"; if "The Oriental is irrational, depraved (fallen), childlike, "different..." then "...the European is rational, virtuous, mature, normal." Thus, "the West" acts as a construction in the similar way as does "the Orient" – it is a created notion to justify a particular set of power relations, in this case, the colonization and rule of a foreign country.
From the 1400s onward,Europeanization andcolonialism spread gradually over much of the world and controlled different regions during this five centuries long period,colonizing or subjecting the majority of the globe.
FollowingWorld War II, Western leaders and academics sought to expand innate liberties and international equality. A period ofdecolonization began. At the end of the 1960s, most colonies were allowed autonomy. Those new states often adopted some aspects of Westernpolitics such as a constitution, while frequently reacting against Western culture.[citation needed]
Due to thecolonization of the Americas andOceania byEuropeans, the cultural, ethnic, and linguistic make-up of the Americas and Oceania has been changed. This is most visible in settler colonies such as:Australia andNew Zealand in Oceania, and theUnited States,Canada,Argentina,Brazil,Chile,Costa Rica, andUruguay in the Americas, where the traditionalindigenous population has been predominantly replaced demographically by non-indigenous settlers due to transmitted disease and conflict. This demographic takeover in settler countries has often resulted in the linguistic, social, and cultural marginalisation of indigenous people. Even in countries where large populations of indigenous people remain or the indigenous peoples have mixed (mestizo) considerably with European settlers, such as countries in Latin America and the Caribbean:Mexico,Peru,Panama,Suriname,Ecuador,Bolivia,Venezuela,Belize,Paraguay,South Africa,Colombia,Guatemala,Haiti,Honduras,Guyana,El Salvador,Jamaica,Cuba, orNicaragua, relative marginalisation still exists.
Latin America was shaped by Iberian culture, with local religious forms also mixing with Christian influences.[28] In Mexico, indigenous people adopted writing alongside their traditional oral and pictorial forms of communication.[29]
General reactions to Westernization can includefundamentalism,protectionism, or embrace to varying degrees. Countries such asKorea andChina attempted to adopt a system ofisolationism but have ultimately juxtaposed parts of Western culture into their own, often adding original and unique social influences, as exemplified by the introduction of over 1,300 locations of the traditionally Western fast-food chainMcDonald's into China.[30] Specific toTaiwan, the industry of bridal photography (seePhotography in Taiwan) has been significantly influenced by the Western idea of "love". As examined by author Bonnie Adrian, Taiwanese bridal photos of today provide a striking contrast to past accepted norms, contemporary couples often displaying great physical affection and, at times, placed in typically Western settings to augment the modernity, in comparison to the historically prominent relationship, often stoic and distant, exhibited between bride and groom.[31] Though Western concepts may have initially played a role in creating this cultural shift in Taiwan, the market and desire for bridal photography has not continued without adjustments and social modifications to this Western notion.
InKorea, the first contact with Westernization was during theJoseon Dynasty, in the 17th century. Every year, the emperor dispatched a few envoy ambassadors to China and while they were staying in Beijing, the Western missionaries were there. Through the missionaries, Korean ambassadors were able to adopt Western technology. In the 19th century, Korea started to send ambassadors to the foreign countries, other than Japan andChina. While Korea was being Westernized slowly in the late 19th century, Korea had the idea of "Eastern ways and Western frames (東道西器)", meaning that they accepted the Western "bowl", but used it with Eastern principles inside.[citation needed]
InJapan, theNetherlands continued to play a key role in transmitting Western know-how to the Japanese from the 17th century to the mid-19th century, because the Japanese had only opened their doors to Dutch merchants before US Navy commodoreMatthew C. Perry'svisit in 1853. After Commodore Perry's visit, Japan began to deliberately accept Western culture to the point of hiring Westerners to teach Western customs and traditions to the Japanese starting in theMeiji era. Since then, many Japanese politicians have encouraged the Westernization of Japan with the use of the termDatsu-A Ron, which means the argument for "leaving Asia" or "Good-bye Asia". InDatsu-A Ron, "Westernization" was described as an "unavoidable" but "fruitful" change. In contrast, despite many advances in industrial efficiency, Japan has sustained a culture of strict social hierarchy and limited individualization.[35]
At the turn of the 19th century, when India was being conquered by theEast India Company, some of its native kingdoms soughtWestern education to learn how to deal with the threat.[36][better source needed] India's laterindependence movement also took inspiration from Western ideas about democracy and human rights.[37] India's ruling class after independence in 1947 remained somewhat Westernized; India's first Prime Minister,Jawaharlal Nehru, had such a substantial Britishness that he once described himself as "the last Englishman to rule India."[38] In 2014, however, theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won power on the back of perceptions of the ruling class beinginsufficiently Indian.[39]
Although Thailand is geographically located inSoutheast Asia, through the 18th and 19th centuries, Siam faced imperialist pressure fromFrance and theUnited Kingdom, including many unequal treaties with Western powers and forced concessions of territory; it nevertheless remained the only Southeast Asian country to avoid direct Western colonization. The country became westernized by itself, the Siamese system of government was centralized and initially organized into a modern unitary absolute monarchy during the reign ofChulalongkorn, later as a constitutional monarchy following theSiamese revolution of 1932.[40] In the late 1950s, Thailand became a major ally of theUnited States, and played a key anti-communist role in the region as a member of theSEATO. Currently, Thailand continues to have strong ties to Western countries.
Starting from the period of theNguyễn dynasty as a protectorate of France, the Vietnamese transitioned fromchữ Hán andchữ Nôm writing systems to the Vietnamese alphabet (chữ Quốc ngữ). Between the late 19th to early 20th centuries, a number ofFrench style buildings were built inSaigon andHanoi, becoming two of several locations in Asia claiming to be theParis of the East. Vietnam is also a member of the International Organisation of La Francophonie. Under the Nguyễn dynasty, Christianity became established as a minority religion for currently around 7% of the population. After the abdication of EmperorBảo Đại and theAugust Revolution that took place during the end of World War II, Vietnam would incorporatesocialist andAmerican values as it underwent industrialization and economic development during and after the period ofpolitical division.[41]
InIran, the process of Westernization dates back to the country's attempt to westernize during the beginning of the 1930s, which was dictated byShah Rezā Khan and continued byhis son during the Cold War and agitated the largely conservativeShia Muslim masses of the country which was partly responsible for the 1979Iranian Revolution.[42]
In transcontinentalTurkey, the synchronization process with the West is known as theTanzimat(reorganization) period. TheOttoman Empire began to change itself according to modern science, practice, and culture. The Empire took some innovations from the West. Also, with the contribution of foreign engineers, the Empire repaired its old arm systems. Newly-found schools, permanent ambassadors, and privy councils were an essential improvement for the Empire. As a result, Turkey is one of the most Westernized majority-Muslim nations.
Westernizers (/ˈzɑːpɑːdnɪk/;Russian:за́падник,romanized: západnik,IPA:[ˈzapədnʲɪk]) were a group of 19th-century intellectuals who believed thatRussia's development depended upon the adoption ofWestern European technology andliberal government. In their view, Western ideas such asindustrialisation needed to be implemented throughout Russia to make it a more successful country. TheRussian term wasзáпадничество (západnichestvo, "westernism"), and its adherents were known as theза́падники (západniki, "westernists").[43]
In some contexts of Russian history,zapadnichestvo can be contrasted withSlavophilia, whose proponents argued that Russia should develop its own unique identity and culture, based on its Slavic heritage.[44]Westernization is often regarded as a part of the ongoing process ofglobalization. This theory proposes that Western thought has led to globalisation, and that globalisation propagates Western culture, leading to a cycle of Westernization. On top of largely Western government systems such asdemocracy andconstitution, many Western technologies and customs like music, clothing, and cars have been introduced across various parts of the world and copied and created in traditionally non-Western countries.
Westernization has been reversed in some countries following war or regime change. For example:Russia in aftermath of theRussian Revolution in 1917 andIran by theIranian Revolution in 1979.[45]
The main characteristics are economic and political (free trade) democratisation, combined with the spread of anindividualised culture. Often it was regarded as opposite to the worldwide influence ofcommunism. After thebreak-up of theUSSR in late 1991 and the end of theCold War, many of its component states and allies nevertheless underwent Westernization, includingprivatization of hitherto state-controlled industry.[46]
With debates still going on, the question of whether globalization can be characterized as Westernization can be seen in various aspects. Globalization is happening in various aspects, ranging from economics, politics, and even food or culture. Westernization, to some schools, is seen as a form of globalization that leads the world to be similar to Western powers. Being globalized means taking positive aspects of the world, but globalization also brings the debate about being Westernized. Democracy, fast food, and American pop culture can all be examples that are considered as Westernization of the world.
According to the "Theory of the Globe scrambled by Social network: a new Sphere of Influence 2.0", published by Jura Gentium (University of Florence), the increasing role of Westernization is characterized bysocial media. The comparison with Eastern societies, who decided to ban American social media platforms (such as Iran and China with Facebook and Twitter), marks a political desire to avoid the Westernization process of their own populations and ways to communicate.[47]
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Due to colonization and immigration, the formerly prevalent languages in the Americas, Oceania, and part ofSouth Africa, are now usually Indo-European languages or creoles based on them:
Many indigenous languages are on the verge of becoming extinct. Some settler countries have preserved indigenous languages; for example, in New Zealand, theMāori language is one of three official languages, the others being English and New Zealand sign language, another example is Ireland, whereIrish is the first official language, followed by English as the second official language.[citation needed]
The importance of sports partly comes from its connection to Westernization. The insight by Edelman, R., & Wilson, W. (2017) explains “This new system of thought and practices imbued with positive values in the exertion and strategic deployment of the human body, embracing the Anglo-American notion that physical activity was meaningful in and of itself, conducive to values such as learning and character-building. Modern athletics and competitive sports, avatars of this new body culture, elicited largely willing local receptions in North Asia, though there were no doubt isolated cases of coercive foisting better characterized as cultural imperialism.”[48]
The origin of western civilization is usually dated to 700 or 800 AD. In general, researchers consider that it has three main components, in Europe, North America and South america. [...] However, South America has followed a quite different development path from Europe and North America. Although it is a scion of European civilization, it also incorporates more elements of indigenous American civilizations compared to those of Northern America and Europe. It also currently has a more corporatist and authoritarian culture. Both Europe and Northern America felt the effects of Reformation and the combination of Catholic and Protestant cultures. Historically, many countries in the Americas has been only Catholic, although this may be changing. [...] the Americas could be considered, or a sub-set, within Western civilization, or can also be considered a separate civilization, intimately related to the West, but divided as to whether it belongs with it.
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