Europe-centric

Europe-centric describes a viewpoint, perspective, or approach that prioritizes Europe and European values, culture, history, or experiences above those of other regions or cultures. It often implies an implicit or explicit belief in the superiority or centrality of Europe. This viewpoint can manifest in various forms, including historical narratives, geopolitical analyses, cultural comparisons, and artistic expressions. Its impact can be seen in global power dynamics, resource allocation, and the framing of international discourse. While the term itself isn't inherently negative, its usage often critiques a biased perspective.

Europe-centric meaning with examples

• The history textbook's Europe-centric narrative, focusing heavily on European monarchs and wars, largely ignored the simultaneous developments in Asia and Africa, creating an incomplete and biased understanding of the global past. This limited the students' broader comprehension of historical timelines. The curriculum offered only one-sided views.
• Some critics argue that certain international organizations exhibit an Europe-centric bias in their decision-making processes, particularly concerning economic policies. This leads to imbalanced allocation of funds. The resulting issues are not always in proportion to their weight and severity, thereby neglecting some regions.
• In the field of classical music, the canon of composers and performers is heavily Europe-centric, often overlooking or marginalizing musical traditions from other parts of the world, leading to limited musical perspectives for most listeners.
• The media's frequent portrayal of global events often adopts an Europe-centric frame of reference, prioritizing European perspectives and interests, even when reporting on events elsewhere. This can distort how audiences perceive the nature of such situations. Global issues tend to become local.
• Many academic studies examining global trends may unintentionally perpetuate an Europe-centric methodology, using European metrics and frameworks to analyze non-European contexts. This may not properly convey the nature of such trends; however, it is often unavoidable due to resources.