Write a well-reasoned and thoughtful short essay of approximately 300 words ( well-developed paragraphs) on the following discussion question.

Introduction

Many cultural hearths have exerted influences on people and landscapes around the world but none more impressively than Europe. For many decades European nation building, scientific and technological achievements, and colonization reshaped cultures and natural systems around the world. From the beginning of the sixteenth century until the late nineteenth century, Europe was at the center of global patterns of colonization, foreign investment, long-distance trade, and agricultural and industrial innovations. The Industrial Revolution originated in Europe, and this industrialization along with colonization helped Europe achieve political and economic supremacy on a global scale.

Furthermore, the process of European integration and regional development initiated an era during which nation-states started believing in the concepts of cooperation, security, and stability. Thus, the European Community/European Union was established as a system of states and as a structure of cooperation among sovereign and equivalent states. Therefore, the European Union worked to create a unified structure for social, environmental, military, and economic policies of its member states.

Discussion Question

Recent decades have seen a global shift in power away from Europe, and the region is not as strong as it once was. Discuss the factors that led to this shift of Europe's global dominance in economic and political affairs. Explain how Europe's political and economic institutions today are trying to create a different Europe? Reference and Cite examples in APA format of when and where necessary.