AP EURO STOCK MARKET GAME: NATIONAL PROFILES FOR CONTEMPORARY EUROPE (21ST CENTURY)
Country / Interaction of Europe and the World (INT) / Poverty and Prosperity (PP) / Objective Knowledge and Subjective Visions (OS) / States and Other Institutions of Power (SP) / Individual and Society (IS)AUSTRIA / Permanent neutrality is a cornerstone of foreign policy. The capital, Vienna, is home to key international organizations, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Austria is a member of the EU.
The government has passed a controversial new asylum law lets the government declare a "state of emergency" over the migrant crisis and reject most asylum-seekers, including those from war-torn countries such as Syria. / Austria has a well-developed social market economy with a high standard of living. It is the 19th richest country in terms of GDP per capita. Banking and insurance predominate. A strong industrial sector depends on exports, with Germany a key market. An austerity package aims to balance the budget by 2016. It’s currency is the euro / In Austria there is religious freedom. The larger part of the Austrian population professes to be of Roman Catholic faith (around three quarters). This group is followed by persons without religious faith, Protestants, Muslims and members of the Christian Orthodox faith. / Austria is a federal republic. Alexander van der Bellen (Green Party)made headlines across Europe when he won the largely ceremonial presidency in an extremely tight run-off vote against Norbert Hofer, of the far-right Freedom Party, in May 2012.However, the election will need to be re-run after Mr Hofer successfully challenged the result. The potential election of Europe's first far-right leader since World War II had drawn an unusual level of media attention to an election dominated by the migration issue and widespread disenchantment with the political establishment. / Austria faces major challenges in relation to population aging and the employment of older workers. The financial sustainability of public pension and health care systems under the demographic pressure of population aging in a major policy issue.
FRANCE / France is a key European and world player. It has a strong military. France is influential in Africa, especially in former colonies. France is a key member of the EU. / France has the eurozone's second-largest economy and is a leading industrial power, but has struggled to emerge from recession since 2008. It’s currency is the euro. / Secularism is seen today as one of the cornerstones of the identity of the French republic, it follows that the position of religion in public life is very limited. Though Catholicism has remained the predominant religion, the "secular" state recognizes the right of individuals to practice whatever religion they wish. In today's France, significant Muslim and Jewish populations. In addition, France has produced some of the world’s most influential artists, writers, philosophers and chefs. / The government of France is a republic. Francois Hollande is France's first Socialist president since Francois Mitterrand in 1981-95. However, the Eurozone financial crisis, the migrant crisis, and recent terrorist attacks have given political legitimacy to the far-right National Front over the past two years. / France's colonial past is a major contributing factor in the presence of a diverse multicultural population. It is home to more than five million people of Arab and African descent. However, difficulty integrating its multicultural population, especially its Muslim inhabitants, has raised fears of increased radicalization. France has suffered through three major terror attacks the past two years.
GERMANY / Germany is a major player in European Union and a proponent of European integration. Germany has also been front and center in the current EU migrant crisis having accepted over 1.8 million migrant refugees in 2015. / Europe's largest economy, Germany is a leading manufacturer and exporter. Vehicles, machines and chemicals are key sectors. Its currency is the euro. / The majority of the population (65 to 70%) profess to being Christian (evenly split b/t Catholics, Protestants, and Calvinist evangelicals).Muslims make up 3.7 percent of the populationwhile 28.3 percent are unaffiliated or have a religion other than Christianity or Islam. Germany also has significant musical, artistic, philosophical, and culinary traditions / Germany has a federal parliamentary republic. Angela Merkel of the conservative Christian Democrats won a third term as chancellor in 2013. / An ageing population has led to concern over the continued viability of Germany's high welfare and health spending. There is also a debate about how to improve integration of the many post-war immigrants whose labor helped fuel the economic boom.
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GREECE / Tensions with Turkey remain over Cyprus and maritime boundaries. It is involved in a naming dispute with Macedonia. Greece’s ports have been a main point of entry for illegal migrants traveling across the Mediterranean from trouble spots in Africa and the Middle East. It is a member of the EU. / In 2010-11, amid fears of an imminent default and of the debt contagion spreading to other countries, Greece's fellow eurozone countries agreed two bailouts totaling some 240bn euros. The price of multi-billion-euro EU and IMF bailouts has been tough austerity measures.
Six straight years of recession beginning in 2008 reduced the economy by about a quarter of its previous size and drove unemployment to record levels. / The historical and cultural heritage of Greece continues to resonate throughout the modern Western world - in its literature, art, philosophy and politics.The Greek Orthodox Church, a member of the Eastern Orthodox Communion, is accorded the status of "prevailing religion" in Greece's constitution, and Greece is the only country in the world where an Eastern Orthodox Church is clearly recognized as a state religion. / Greece’s gov’t is a parliamentary republic. Post-2008 debt crisis and subsequent years of austerity undermine confidence in mainstream parties and lead to 2015 election victory of left-wing anti-austerity bloc Syriza. / High unemployment has led to social unrest, massive street protests, strikesand violence toward immigrants. Fringe parties have emerged on both the far right (ex. Golden Dawn) and the far left (ex. Anarchists) that often battle in huge street demonstrations.
ITALY / Italian forces have been active in peacekeeping in the Balkans, Africa and Middle East, and are present in Afghanistan. Similar to Greece, its ports have served as a main point of entry for illegal migrants travelling across the Mediterranean from trouble spots in the Middle East and Africa. It is a member of the EU. / Italy has the eurozone's third largest economy and a huge public debt - second only to Greece's.It’s currency is the euro. / Italy is a Christian country, some 88 per cent of the population belonging to the Roman Catholic church, although only around a third of these regard themselves as 'active' in religious terms.Take the art works of Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Tintoretto and Caravaggio, the operas of Verdi and Puccini, the cinema of Federico Fellini, add the architecture of Venice, Florence and Rome and you have just a fraction of Italy's treasures from over the centuries. / Italy’s government is a parliamentary republic. MatteoRenzi leads a left-right coalition government / There is concern over Italy's birth rate - one of the lowest in Europe - and the economic implications of an ageing population.
NETHERLANDS / The Netherlands plays a central role in the European Union and Dutch forces have been active in UN peacekeeping efforts. After a longstanding policy of neutrality between Europe's great powers, the bitter experience of invasion and occupation during World War II led the Netherlands to become a leading supporter of international cooperation. / The economy is primarily services-based but trade also plays a major role. Since the credit crisis of 2008 hit world markets, the Dutch economy has struggled to recover from recession. The government has introduced rounds of budget cuts and tax hikes to bring down spending, and unemployment has remained high. Its currency is the euro. / The Netherlands has produced many of the world's most famous artists from Rembrandt and Vermeer in the 17th century to Van Gogh in the 19th and Mondrian in the 20th. It attracts visitors from across the globe.The Netherlands has a long history of social tolerance and is generally regarded as a liberal country, having legalized abortion, prostitution and euthanasia, while maintaining a progressive drugs policy. In 2001 it became the world's first country to legalize same-sex marriage. It is also one of the most secular nations in the world, with a third of its population identified as non-religious and one in four Dutch identified as atheists. Christians made up 25% of the population. Muslims 5%. / The government of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. A left-right coalition government was formed in November 2012, after months of deadlock over plans to cut the budget deficit. Since 2005, the right-wing anti-immigrant Freedom Party founded by Geert Wilders has made significant inroads in parliamentary elections. / It is one of the world's most densely populated nations. As in many European countries, over-65s make up an increasing percentage of that population, leading to greater demands on the welfare system.There was concern that Dutch society's longstanding tradition of tolerance was under threat when homosexual anti-immigration politician Pim Fortuyn was assassinated in 2002. Anxiety over increased racial tension intensified further after the murder in 2004 of Theo Van Gogh who had made a film on the position of women in Islamic society. A violent Islamic extremist later confessed and was jailed for life.After Mr. Van Gogh's killing, the government hardened its line on immigration and failed asylum seekers.
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POLAND / A new era began when Poland became an EU member in May 2004, five years after joining NATO and 15 years after the end of communist rule. Warsaw's profile on the international stage was raised by its support for the US-led military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. More recently, it has found itself close to the front line in Russia's military campaign against Ukraine after the fall of that country's pro-Moscow government in 2014. / The economy has boomed since EU accession in 2004, and Poland is one of the region's top-performing countries, although unemployment remains high.
There has been marked success in creating a market economy and attracting foreign investment. Germany is now Poland's biggest trading partner. Poland still has a huge farming sector - agriculture accounts for about 60% of the country's total land area - but the sector remains hampered by inefficiency, structural problems and lack of investment. Its currency is the zloty. / The presence in the Vatican of Polish Pope John-Paul II was an important influence on the Solidarity movement throughout the 1980s. The Roman Catholic church remains a very potent force in Polish life. / Poland has been a stable democracy since the end of communist rule. In the years between the end of communism and EU accession, power in Poland switched between the center right and the center left, but the 21st century has seen the rise of the more forthrightly conservative and Eurosceptic Law and Justice Party. / There was a massive movement of workers to western Europe in the years after Poland joined the EU, but the exodus slowed down after the global economic crisis took hold.
RUSSIA / In the 2000s Russia adopted a more assertive foreign policy stance, and began to promote its perceived interests in former Soviet states more openly, even at the cost of antagonizing the West.The resulting tensions first became acute in August 2008, when a protracted row over two breakaway regions of Georgia escalated into a military conflict between Russia and Georgia.
The Ukrainian revolution of February 2014, which ousted Russian ally President Viktor Yanukovych and ushered in a Western-leaning leadership, triggered an even more serious crisis in East-West relations, especially after Russia responded by annexing Crimea. As a result,
the US, EU and other Western states imposed sanctions against businesses and individuals close to President Putin.Add to this Syria's increasing military support for the Assad government in Syria's civil war, and some begin to fear the start of a protracted stand-off between West and Russia - and even a new Cold War. / Russia is heavily dependent on oil and gas exports. Officials have been hesitant to privatize energy assets. A long economic boom based on high oil and gas prices started to end in 2013, when Russia's economic prospects began to worsen. This was exacerbated by a sharp fall in world oil prices and the imposition of Western sanctions over Ukraine the following year.Some observers say the root cause is that the economy is still too dependent on raw material exports, as well as the Putin regime's reluctance to embark on reform to encourage diversification for fear of imperiling its control. Its currency is the ruble. / While Russians make up more than 80% of the population and Orthodox Christianity is the main religion, there are many other ethnic and religious groups. Muslims are concentrated among the Volga Tatars and the Bashkirs and in the North Caucasus. / Though Russia’s government is supposed to be a semi-presidential federation with open elections, economic strength has allowed Vladimir Putin - Russia's dominant political figure since 2000 - to enhance state control over political institutions and the media - a process supplemented more recently by an emphasis on fierce nationalism and hostility to the West. / Separatists and latterly armed Islamists have made the Caucasus region of Chechnya a war zone for much of the post-Soviet era. Many thousands have died since Moscow - fearful of its control of the wider North Caucasus - sent in troops to put down a separatist rebellion in Chechnya in 1994, and again five years later.With a pro-Kremlin now firmly in charge in Chechnya, Russian has since declared the insurgency effectively finished, although sporadic violence continues. Russia continues to have one of the worst human rights records in the world, especially in regards to treatment of homosexuals and those who oppose the Putin regime.
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SPAIN / Spain consists of most of the Iberian peninsula, plus the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and two North African exclaves. Spanish forces have taken part in multilateral missions and peacekeeping, including in Afghanistan. Spain claims sovereignty over the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It is a member of the EU. / Spain was hit hard in the 2008-9 global economic crisis, and has undertaken painful austerity measures. More than 27% of Spaniards were unemployed at lowest point. The economy nonetheless began to turn round by the end of 2013, and the country saw stronger than expected growth the following year, with unemployment falling back to 24.5%. Its currency is the euro. / From Velazquez in the seventeenth century, through Goya straddling the eighteenth and nineteenth, to Picasso in the twentieth, Spain has the proudest of traditions in art.Flamenco music and dance are widely admired around the world while Cervantes' novel Don Quixote is one of the most popular ever written.Cinema is much loved and the films of directors such as Pedro Almodovar attract huge audiences.
Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Spanish Constitution, although the majority of the population is Catholic. / After the death of dictator Francisco Franco's in a democratic state with King Juan Carlos as head of state. The constitution of 1978 enshrines respect for linguistic and cultural diversity within a united Spain. The country is divided into 17 regions which all have their own directly elected authorities. Current PM Mariano Rajoy from the conservative Popular Party took office in late 2011. He faces secessionist sentiment in Catalonia and electoral challenges from anti-austerity campaigners / One of Spain's most serious domestic issues has been tension in the northern Basque region. A violent campaign by the armed Basque separatist group ETA led to nearly 850 deaths over four decades until, after several stalled cease-fires, it disbanded in 2012.
Austerity measures imposed by the government in an effort to reduce the level of public debt sparked a wave of protests and gave rise to the Podemos (We Can Do It) political movement.
SWEDEN / Sweden joined the EU in 1995. Though a famously neutral country, a security doctrine has allowed for the deployment of Swedish forces overseas / Unemployment is low and the economy strong. Public-private partnership is at the core of "the Swedish model", which was developed by the Social Democrats, who governed for most of the last 70 years until 2006.This mixed economy traditionally featured centralized wage negotiations and a heavily tax-subsidized social security network. The Swedes still enjoy an advanced welfare system, and their standard of living and life expectancy are almost second to none.Sweden was one of three EU countries not to join the single European currency. Swedish voters rejected it by a clear majority in September 2003. Its currency is the krona. / Sweden is relatively secular and has a high population of atheists, but it is far from an irreligious country. Religion still plays a ritual and cultural role, and with immigration, the religious landscape becomes more diverse and complex.Sixty-four per cent of the Swedish population are members of the Church of Sweden (Lutheran), but there exist growing Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim populations as well. / Sweden’s government is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. A Social Democrat/Green minority coalition formed after inconclusive September 2014 elections / The country is a common destination for refugees and asylum seekers - immigrants make up more than 10% of its population.