Europe is often one of the first places people think of when racism is discussed. From the institutionalized racism， especially in colonial times， when racial beliefs—even eugenics—were not considered something wrong， to recent times where the effects of neo-Nazism is still felt. Europe is a complex area with many cultures in a relatively small area of land that has seen many conflicts throughout history. (Note that most of these conflicts have had trade and resource access at their core， but national identities have often added fuel to some of these conflicts.)

　　Racism has also been used to justify exploitation， even using “pseudo-science”。

　　Debates over the origins of racism often suffer from a lack of clarity over the term. Many conflate recent forms of racism with earlier forms of ethnic and national conflict. In most cases ethnic-national conflict seems to owe to conflict over land and strategic resources. In some cases ethnicity and nationalism were harnessed to wars between great religious empires (for example， the Muslim Turks and the Catholic Austro-Hungarians)。 As Benedict Anderson has suggested in Imagined Communities， ethnic identity and ethno-nationalism became a source of conflict within such empires with the rise of print-capitalism.

　　In its modern form， racism evolved in tandem with European exploration and conquest of much of the rest of the world， and especially after Christopher Columbus reached the Americas. As new peoples were encountered， fought， and ultimately subdued， theories about “race” began to develop， and these helped many to justify the differences in position and treatment of people whom they categorized as belonging to different races.

　　Another possible source of racism is the misunderstanding of Charles Darwin‘s theories of evolution. Some took Darwin’s theories to imply that since some “races” were more civilized， there must be a biological basis for the difference. At the same time they appealed to biological theories of moral and intellectual traits to justify racial oppression. There is a great deal of controversy about race and intelligence， in part because the concepts of both race and IQ are themselves controversies.

　　A short review from the Inter Press Service highlights the rise of neo-Nazism in 2000 in Europe and suggests that “far from being a fringe activity， racism， violence and neo-nationalism have become normal in some communities. The problems need to be tackled much earlier， in schools and with social programs.”

　　Ethnic minorities and different cultures in one country can often be used as a scapegoat for the majority during times of economic crisis. That is one reason why Nazism became so popular.

　　In France， May 2002， the success of far right politician Le Pen in the run for leadership (though he lost out in the end) sent a huge shockwave throughout Europe， about how easy it was for far right parties to come close to getting power if there is complacency in the democratic processes and if participation is reduced.

　　In various places throughout Western Europe， in 2002， as Amnesty International highlights， there has been a rise in racist attacks and sentiments against both Arabs and Jews， in light of the increasing hostilities in the Middle East.

　　In 1997， Human Rights Watch noted that，“The U.K. has one of the highest levels of racially-motivated violence and harassment in Western Europe， and the problem is getting worse.” In April 1999， London saw two bombs explode in predominantly ethnic minority areas where a Nazi group has claimed responsibility. The summer of 2001 saw many race-related riots in various parts of northern England.

　　Greece has one of the worst records in the European Union for racism against ethnic minorities， according to the BBC. Anti-immigrant sentiment has long been high， especially against ethnic Albanians， who form the largest minority. Until the 1990s， the BBC notes， Greece had been an extremely homogenous society. With the fall of communism many immigrants from Eastern Europe came to Greece. Albanians especially have been targeted by a lot of racist sentiment. Some hostage taking by a few Albanians in recent years has not helped the situation.