Is "Latin America" part of the "west"?

[tnowacki]

Relating to this very interesting question, I can recommend the book "The Clash of Civilizations" by S. P. Huntington, whose view I share in overall. I agree, that Western culture cannot be defined by political criterias only, but neither by religion or economy. If the latter were so, most Western people would meet in Davos every year... Thus, it is hard to define "Western culture" or "The West". For a nontheless good try, see the former recommended book.
In any case, Huntington differentiates between a "Western" civilization and a "Latin American".
(see commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clash_of_Civilizations_world_map.png for further reference). Yet, he describes the L.A. civilization as the most related to the Western and classifies Mexico as a "torn country", that is, a country which changes from one civilization to another; in this case that would be from L.A. to Western civilization.

[tnowacki]

There are some common criteria among modern "Western" countries:
* Membership of NATO and/or European trading blocs.
* Broadly pro-US foreign policy.
* Greco-Roman based legal systems.
* Being located in Europe or North America.
* A temperate climate.
* Not being a former communist country.

However, having one or more of these does not make a state "Western". Not having one does not exclude someone.


Ultimately, it's a matter of "self-definition", of course.

I'd disagree, except for the last sentence. . In my view, particularly the membership of NATO or EU is not a common criterium for membership of the "West". These organisations are created on the values that "the West" shares, not the other way around. Furthermore, states being commonly considered as "Western", like Austria or Norway are not part of the NATO.
Also, having a communist era in history is no criteria for "being Western" at all, as most post-communist societies like Poland, Czech Republik, Slovenia, Baltic States etc. are now definetly "Western". It is the overall history and culture, what counts. For example, Poland was always considered as the buffer against the East, thus always counted as an essential part of Europe. Russia, in contrast, was never counted to Europe until the "Westernization" of Car Peter the Great was introduced; ever since, Russia is much nearer to the West, but because of its different religion (Orthodox), history and huge ethnicities in Asia I would not count it to the "Western" civilization.
I also disagree with the criteria of foreign policy. A "Western" country is considered to have a developed and functional democracy. Thus, diplomatic priorities and relations can change with a single government change. It is natural, that states from a common civilization stand closer to each other than to states of other civilizations, but that does not exclude intracivilizational conflicts. Furthermore, most European states are now opposed to the USA; does that make them less "Western"? Or Japan and Australia more "Western"?
It is, in my opinion, also not the geography, which is important. Hence, I personally include Australia or NZ to the "Western" civilization. I think, civilizations and their differences can be described only by common and different values, history and religion. And a civilization can only exist, when there are other civilizations to which one can compare his or her own.

Oh, and by the way, most of Central European countries do not have a Roman law system, but still the one that was introduced by Napoleon.

[tnowacki]

Turkey?! Well... not really, in my opinion
Add
Poland
Czech
Slowakia
Slovenia
Baltic States
Hungary
please.

[tnowacki]

Latin America is very much part of the West.  Especially considering that "The West" is a cultural/civilizational term--it has nothing to do with wealth, economics, or political orientation. 

Perhaps, there is a bit of a problem with how we use this word in the English-speaking world.  We have The West (civilization), also "The West" which is another thing altogether having to do with NATO and being opposed to the USSR, generally in a camp with the US.  Perhaps, in German it is expressed better.  The West as a civilization is "Das Abendland" (land of the evening), and "the West" as a political grouping is "Der Westen"--two different words, no confusion.  So, for example, Poland could be part of "Das Abendland" but not part of "Der Westen".  By the same token, Mexico can be part of The West (Abendland) but also be a developing nation.

Actually, Poland is part of "der Westen", as it is integrated in both NATO and EU, has strongly European roots and is politically considered as Western.

[tnowacki]

I agree completely, except of Russia belonging to the West.