About the Central Europe

Central Europe geopolitical concept doesn't correspond to the geographical reality which can be clearly defined. She has unclear borders and it is defined according to the circumstances. There isn't a consensus among specialists regarding the definition of Central Europe. But it is obvious that it can not be defined unless in a relation between West and East side of the continent and depending on the relationship which these two extremities have.

The best version regarding the Central Europe belongs to Germans, but there are other versions which compete or complete the first one. 

Mitteleuropa has two different meanings: one of a recent date which is connected with Pan-Germanism and another which sends us to the tradition of Saint Roman-German Empire. But both have the faith in the "divinity " of the German people, the only capable to make order in the Oriental chaos. There is also a more pragmatical orientation which tell us that the Central-European space represents a great retail market for the exports and industrial expansion of Germany. The contemporary Mitteleuropa represents "a cultural influence area, including the education, universitary, scientific systems or mass-media, besides the economic, financial and trade influence" tells us J. Le Rider in "Mitteleuropa".

The beginning of the set up of this notion of Central Europe is the great movement of the West-Central European area territories colonization and Christianizing from the XII-XIV centuries. This demographical movement led to the introduction of the agricultural techniques, of the institutions and juridical systems of the German people in these territories. It is different from the movement of imposing German concepts about Oriental territories from the XVIII centuries because we do not speak any more about a natural demographical movement but about an administrative and military consolidation and territorial expansion.
Beginning with the 2nd decade of the XX century following the treaties which meant the end of the World War I, the German people movements take place in reverse direction. The end of the World War II complicated much more the situation by the set up of the enclaves from the East side of Oder-Neise line. Approximate 12 300 000 Germans had to leave these territories.

The way other peoples conceive the Central Europe is an indicative of the concerning in the field of finding and consolidating a new geopolitical identity. Hungarians and Czechs think that the territory of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire constitute the Central Europe historical center. The Polish people integrate all the area between Germany and Russia, including Baltic Countries and Ukraine but Germany is excluded. In the catholic conception (Papal) Central Europe plays the role of a belt between Liberal Europe (catholic Europe) and East Europe dominated by the Russian orthodoxy.

Peter the Great is the founder of the Russian version of the concept regarding the Central Europe. His attempt to push Russia towards Europe initiated pro-occidental orientations of the external Russian policy. In this version, Central Europe is permanently counterbalanced by Eurasiatism and the ideas regarding Russia uniqueness.

The Austrians are divided when the problem of defining Central Europe is raised. But they agree that this makes Vienna a political and cultural status of the world.

The Germans think that Central Europe has a cultural meaning only if Germany has the pier role, the Hapsburg Empire nostalgic overlap Central Europe upon the former Austro-Hungarian territory while the pragmatics call the notion as "intellectual chimera".