From the Soviet Bloc to the European Union

Abstract

The Soviet Union's dramatic collapse in 1989 was a pivotal moment in the complex history of Central and Eastern Europe, and Ivan Berend here offers a magisterial new account of the dramatic transformation that culminated in ten former Soviet Bloc countries joining the European Union. Taking the OPEC oil crisis of 1973 as his starting point, he charts the gradual unravelling of state socialism in Central and Eastern Europe, its ultimate collapse in the revolutions of 1989, and the economic restructuring and lasting changes in income, employment, welfare, education and social structure which followed. He pays particular attention to the crucial role of the European Union as well as the social and economic hurdles that continue to face former Eastern-bloc nations as they try to catch up with their Western neighbours. This will be essential reading for scholars and students of European and economic history, European politics and economics.

Institutions in Transition: Is the Eu Integration Process Relevant for Inward Fdi in Transition European Economies?

“…As economic reforms continued, it was more and more obvious that application did not fit the socioeconomic system of transition countries. The judiciary system was strongly influenced by ruling political parties that tailored privatization of state-owned enterprises according to their personal needs, so national resources often become privately owned overnight (Berend, 2009). All of this make transition economies specific in terms of potential benefits that they could exploit from FDI.…”

“…As Berend (2009) noted, the attitude of transition countries towards FDI had been hostile for a long time. Under the socialist economic order, foreign investments and foreign capital considered as a threat to national security and social order, which was quite an extreme view.…”

Developing inclusive educational practices for refugee children in the Czech Republic

“…The education system of the Czech Republic has been experiencing vast changes since 1989 (Berend 2009). However, it has a long tradition of segregated schooling for children with special educational needs (SEN), resulting in one of the lowest proportions of mainstream-included children with SEN internationally (Evans 2000).…”

Internal Crisis of Compound Polities: Understanding the EU’s Crisis in Light of the Ex-Yugoslav Federation’s Failure

“…2 As a result, Yugoslavia managed to achieve the same kind of legitimacy that has for a long time characterized the EU, notably output legitimacy. 3 Even though the idealized picture of uninterrupted economic growth in both the East and West in the first decades after the Second World War can be seriously challenged, 4 the fact remains that governing elites in both cases proved to be successful, although in different ways, in promoting peace, stability, prosperity and welfare.…”