Editing Westernization (section)

==Process==
{{See also|Western influence on Africa|Anglicisation}}

===Colonization and Europeanization (1400s–1970s)===
{{Main|Colonialism}}{{See also|European diaspora|American diaspora}}
From the 1400s onward, [[Europeanization]] and [[colonialism]] spread gradually over much of the world and controlled different regions during this five centuries long period, [[History of colonialism|colonizing or subjecting]] the majority of the globe.

Following [[World War II]], Western leaders and academics sought to expand innate liberties and international equality. A period of [[decolonization]] began. At the end of the 1960s, most colonies were allowed autonomy. Those new states often adopted some aspects of Western [[politics]] such as a constitution, while frequently reacting against Western culture.{{Citation needed|date=November 2011}}

===In the Americas and Oceania===
{{See also|North American frontier|Americanization}}[[File:Spaniard_and_Indian_Produce_a_Mestizo.jpg|thumb|The [[Mestizo|racial mixing]] of Spaniards and indigenous Latin Americans.]]
Due to the [[European colonization of the Americas|colonization of the Americas]] and [[Europeans in Oceania|Oceania]] by [[Europe]]ans, 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]] and [[New Zealand]] in Oceania, and the [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Argentina]], [[Brazil]], [[Chile]], [[Costa Rica]], and [[Uruguay]] in the Americas, where the traditional [[indigenous peoples|indigenous 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]], or [[Nicaragua]], relative marginalisation still exists.

Latin America was shaped by Iberian culture, with local religious forms also mixing with Christian influences.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Carmagnani |first1=Marcello |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1ppz4m |title=The Other West: Latin America from Invasion to Globalization |last2=Frongia |first2=Rosanna M. Giammanco |date=2011 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-24798-7 |edition=1 |jstor=10.1525/j.ctt1ppz4m }}</ref> In Mexico, indigenous people adopted writing alongside their traditional oral and pictorial forms of communication.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gruzinski |first=Serge |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ed0BtAEACAAJ |title=The Conquest of Mexico: The Incorporation of Indian Societies Into the Western World, 16th-18th Centuries |date=1993 |publisher=Polity Press |isbn=978-0-7456-0873-0 |language=en}}</ref>

===In Asia===
[[File:King Amanullah of Afghanistan.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Amānullāh Khān|King Amanullah Khan]] of [[Kingdom of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]] attempted to [[Reforms of Amānullāh Khān and civil war|Westernize his country]] in the 1920s, but tribal revolts caused his abdication.]]
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:TaiwaneseWeddingCouple.tiff|thumbnail|180px|A Taiwanese couple share in a loving embrace, wearing traditional Western wedding garments displayed by the white wedding gown and groom's tuxedo.]] -->

General reactions to Westernization can include [[fundamentalism]], [[protectionism]], or embrace to varying degrees. Countries such as [[Korea]] and [[China]] attempted to adopt a system of [[isolationism]] 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 chain [[McDonald's]] into China.<ref>{{cite news |title=McDonald's China Plans To Open A New Store Every Day |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mcdonalds-china-new-stores_n_913071 |work=HuffPost |date=29 July 2011 }}</ref> Specific to [[Taiwan]], the industry of bridal photography (see [[Photography 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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Adrian|first=Bonnie|title=Framing the Bride: Globalizing Beauty and Romance in Taiwan's Bridal Industry|year=2003|publisher=University of California Press|location=Los Angeles, CA}}</ref> 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.

====East Asia====

=====China=====
{{Excerpt|Eastward spread of Western learning}}

=====Korea=====
{{See also|Seohak}}
In [[Korea]], the first contact with Westernization was during the [[Joseon 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 and [[China]]. 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|date=March 2017}}

=====Japan=====
{{See also|Japanization}}[[File:Chikamatsu Kiken buto no ryakuke.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|An example of 19th-century Westernization of Japanese society: [[Ballroom dance|ballroom dancing]] at the [[Rokumeikan]], [[Tokyo]], 1888]]
In [[Japan]], the [[Netherlands]] 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 commodore [[Matthew C. Perry]]'s [[Perry Expedition|visit 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 the [[Meiji era]]. Since then, many Japanese politicians have encouraged the Westernization of Japan with the use of the term ''[[Datsu-A Ron]]'', which means the argument for "leaving Asia" or "Good-bye Asia". In ''Datsu-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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dore |first1=Ronald |chapter=Unity and Diversity in World Culture |pages=407–424 [416] |editor1-last=Bull |editor1-first=Hedley |editor2-last=Watson |editor2-first=Adam |title=The Expansion of International Society |date=1984 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-821942-2 }}</ref>

====South Asia====
{{See also|Anglicisation#South Asia}}

=====India=====
{{See also|Cultural history of India#Colonial era}}
At the turn of the 19th century, when India was being conquered by the [[East India Company]], some of its native kingdoms sought [[Western education]] to learn how to deal with the threat.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-09-22 |title=What a false quote about Bengal reveals about our past |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/what-a-false-quote-about-bengal-reveals-about-our-past-101727021145362.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240924072503/https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/what-a-false-quote-about-bengal-reveals-about-our-past-101727021145362.html |archive-date=2024-09-24 |access-date=2024-12-25 |work=Hindustan Times |language=en-us}}</ref>{{bsn|date=December 2024}} India's later [[Indian independence movement|independence movement]] also took inspiration from Western ideas about democracy and human rights.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McLane |first=John R. |title=Indian Nationalism and the Early Congress |date=1977 |publisher=Princeton University Press |jstor=j.ctt13x1cv8}}{{pn|date=October 2024}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nanda |first1=B. R. |title=Jawaharlal Nehru |date=1998 |isbn=978-0-19-564586-6 |pages=253–263 |chapter=Nehru and the British |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195645866.003.0013}}</ref> In 2014, however, the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) won power on the back of perceptions of the ruling class being [[Indianisation|insufficiently Indian]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dhingra |first=Sanya |date=2023-08-14 |title=How Hindu Nationalists Redefined Decolonization in India |url=https://newlinesmag.com/argument/how-hindu-nationalists-redefined-decolonization-in-india/ |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=New Lines Magazine |language=en}}</ref>

====Southeast Asia====

=====Thailand=====
Although Thailand is geographically located in [[Southeast Asia]], through the 18th and 19th centuries, Siam faced imperialist pressure from [[France]] and the [[United 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 of [[Chulalongkorn]], later as a constitutional monarchy following the [[Siamese revolution of 1932]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Leventon |first1=Melissa |last2=Gluckman |first2=Dale Carolyn |title=Modernity Through the Lens: The Westernization of Thai Women's Court Dress |journal=Costume |date=June 2013 |volume=47 |issue=2 |pages=216–233 |doi=10.1179/0590887613Z.00000000025 }}</ref> In the late 1950s, Thailand became a major ally of the [[United States]], and played a key anti-communist role in the region as a member of the [[Southeast Asia Treaty Organization|SEATO]]. Currently, Thailand continues to have strong ties to Western countries.

=====Vietnam=====
Starting from the period of the [[Nguyễn dynasty]] as a protectorate of France, the Vietnamese transitioned from [[chữ Hán]] and [[chữ Nôm]] writing systems to the Vietnamese alphabet ([[chữ Quốc ngữ]]). Between the late 19th to early 20th centuries, a number of [[French_colonial_architecture#Vietnam|French style buildings]] were built in [[Saigon]] and [[Hanoi]], becoming two of several locations in Asia claiming to be the [[Paris of the East (disambiguation)|Paris 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 Emperor [[Abdication of Bảo Đại|Bảo Đại]] and the [[August Revolution]] that took place during the end of World War II, Vietnam would incorporate [[socialist]] and [[United States|American]] values as it underwent industrialization and economic development during and after the period of [[Reunification Day|political division]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nguyen |first1=Quynh Thi Nhu |title=The Vietnamese Values System: A Blend of Oriental, Western and Socialist Values |journal=International Education Studies |date=2016 |volume=9 |issue=12 |pages=32–40 |doi=10.5539/ies.v9n12p32|doi-access=free }}</ref>

====West Asia====
{{Multiple image
| align = vertical
| width1 = 150
| image1 = HIH Prince Yorihito Higashifushimi.jpg
| caption1 = Another example of Westernization: Prince [[Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito|Yorihito Higashifushimi]] of [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] in typical Western naval dress [[uniform]] with white gloves, [[epaulette]]s, medals and hat.
| width2 = 193
| image2 = Gen John Bates.jpg
| caption2 = Similarity with U.S. [[General]] [[John C. Bates]]'s uniform.
|}}

=====Iran=====
In [[Iran]], the process of Westernization dates back to the country's attempt to westernize during the beginning of the 1930s, which was dictated by [[Rezā Shāh|Shah Rezā Khan]] and continued by [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|his son]] during the Cold War and agitated the largely conservative [[Shia Islam|Shia Muslim]] masses of the country which was partly responsible for the 1979 [[Iranian Revolution]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=del Giudice |first1=Marguerite |title=Persia: ancient soul of Iran |journal=National Geographic |date=2008 |volume=214 |issue=2 |pages=34–67 }}</ref>

=====Turkey=====
In [[Turkey]], the synchronization process with the West is known as the [[Tanzimat]] ''(reorganization)'' period. The [[Ottoman 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.

===In Europe===
{{See also|Greater Europe}}

====Russia====
{{Excerpt|Westernizer|paragraphs=1-2}}

===Globalization (1970s–present)===
Westernization is often regarded as a part of the ongoing process of [[globalization]]. 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 as [[democracy]] and [[constitution]], 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 the [[Russian Revolution]] in 1917 and [[Iran]] by the [[Iranian Revolution]] in 1979.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Priborkin |first1=Emily |title=40 Years Later: Iran after the Islamic Revolution |url=https://www.american.edu/sis/news/20190408-40-years-later-iran-after-the-islamic-revolution.cfm |work=American University |date=8 April 2019 }}</ref>

The main characteristics are economic and political ([[free trade]]) democratisation, combined with the spread of an [[Individualism|individualised culture]]. Often it was regarded as opposite to the worldwide influence of [[communism]]. After the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|break-up]] of the [[Soviet Union|USSR]] in late 1991 and the end of the [[Cold War]], many of its component states and allies nevertheless underwent Westernization, including [[privatization]] of hitherto state-controlled industry.<ref>{{cite web |title=Consequences of the Collapse of the Soviet Union |url=https://online.norwich.edu/online/about/resource-library/consequences-collapse-soviet-union |work=Norwich University }}</ref>

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 by [[social 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Peccia |first1=Tiziano |date=2014 |title=The Theory of the Globe Scrambled by Social Networks |url=https://www.juragentium.org/topics/wlgo/en/peccia.htm |website=Jura Gentium }}</ref>