Focusing on the profound transformation in Central and Eastern Europe since the fall of the Iron Curtain, this record analyzes complex cultural dimensions, such as lifestyles, habits, value markers, and identity. Written by a group of experts, it presents case studies from the former communist countries that are members of the European Union today and attempts to answer crucial questions about the constructions of a new identity in the region: Have the processes of democratization and opening the borders produced mentality changes and new value systems? Is there a convergence of values and cultures between the new and old EU-members? Have there been backlashes in the processes of reconstructing national identities? This book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in European integration, issues of national identity, and the politics and culture of the post-Communist countries.

Stereotypes often cast communism as a defunct, bankrupt ideology and a relic of the distant past. However, recent political movements like Europe's anti-austerity protests, the Arab Spring, and Occupy Wall Street suggest that communism is still very much relevant and may even hold the key to a new, idealized future. In The Oxford Handbook of Communist Visual Cultures, contributors trace the legacies of communist ideology in visual culture, from buildings and monuments, murals and sculpture, to recycling campaigns and wall newspapers, all of which work to make communism's ideas and values material. Contributors work to resist the widespread demonization of communism, demystifying its ideals and suggesting that it has visually shaped the modern world in undeniable and complex ways. Together, contributors answer curcial questions like: What can be salvaged and reused from past communist experiments? How has communism impacted the cultures of late capitalism? And how have histories of communism left behind visual traces of potential utopias? An interdisciplinary look at the cultural currency of communism today, The Oxford Handbook of Communist Visual Cultures demonstrates the value of revisiting the practices of the past to form a better vision of the future.

The Encyclopedia of Law and Society is the largest comprehensive and international treatment of the law and society field. With an Advisory Board of 62 members from 20 countries and six continents, the three volumes of this state-of-the-art resource represent interdisciplinary perspectives on law from sociology, criminology, cultural anthropology, political science, social psychology, and economics. By globalizing the Encyclopedia's coverage, American and international law and society will be better understood within its historical and comparative context.

This is an assessment of the social dimension to reconciliation as displayed in Paul's Letter to the Romans. Traditional exegetical scholarship has treated Paul's presentation of reconciliation as referring to reconciliation between people and God, and has primarily focused use of the word katallage - traditionally translated as 'atonement'. Constantineanu challenges this view and argues that Paul's understanding of the concept is more complex, employing rich symbolism to describe reconciliation with God and between human beings forming together an inseparable reality. The discussion is placed within Paul's overall religious, social and political contexts, showing that an analysis of the social dimension of reconciliation in his thought is both plausible and necessary. Constantineanu offers an analysis of two major sections of Romans, chapters 5-8 and 12-15. Special emphasis is placed on Paul's use of the story of Jesus for community formation, for the shaping of identity, values and community practices. It is thus demonstrated that for Paul God's reconciling initiative, shown in the crucifixion, is not only the pronouncement of God's reconciling the world, but also the ground and model for reconciliation among human beings. It was formerly the Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement , a book series that explores the many aspects of New Testament study including historical perspectives, social-scientific and literary theory, and theological, cultural and contextual approaches.

After forty years of one-party rule under communist regimes, how were the countries of East-Central Europe to get back to the business of competitive politics in 1989? One key factor was the resumption of party politics, and this book reviews the postcommunist development of political parties in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary. Tomáš Kostelecký describes party history up to 1947—some earlier parties were resurrected in 1989—and then covers the communist and postcommunist periods. Historical, cultural, and social factors in party development are all taken into account in this synthetic work. The core of the work studies three crucial factors: historical and cultural factors, social cleavages, and electoral rules. In general Kostelecký sees a move toward more organized political parties, greater rational choice and self-interest in voters' decisions, and better structured, stabler politics. In other words, East-Central European politics is transforming itself from simply a reaction against the politics of the preceding regime to a situation in which diverse groups in society will find their interests institutionalized in diverse political parties, not unlike the politics of Western Europe.

As the first and only book in any language on contemporary women’s movements in Hungary, this groundbreaking study focuses on the role of women’s activism in a society where women are not yet adequately represented by established parties and political institutions. Drawing on eyewitness accounts of meetings and protests, as well as first-person interviews with leading female activists, Katalin Fábián examines the interactions between women’s groups in Hungary and studies the unique brand of democracy they have forged in postcommunist Eastern Europe. Through her analysis, she demonstrates how democratization and globalization—with their attendant range of challenges and opportunities—have led women to redefine public-private divides.