Social Policy and International Interventions in South East Europe proves a comprehensive, dense, and thought provoking read, particularly successful in framing both the historical and institutional contexts of the countries examined, as well as literary debates on the subject and is thus a precious resource. . . Irene Dioli, Journal of Southeastern Europe The questions broached by the volume are of interest to all who are concerned with development and politics. Experts will find the data and is presentation quite useful; others will benefit from the background information presented in each chapter. . . . Social Policy and International Interventions in South East Europe is an excellent addition to the academic literature and will serve all those who are trying to keep pace with fluid developments in the transitional states of south east Europe. Richard P. Farkas, Slavic Review This is a remarkably rich and thought-provoking collection. Its substantial case studies make it a vital resource for studying social policy in South East Europe. Its focus on the flows of international actors, agencies, ideas and resources poses critical questions about how the emergence of social policy, the emergence of new forms of governance and the creation of new spaces of welfare are connected. The implications of this concern with emergent forms and directions reach far beyond the region itself. John Clarke, The Open University, UK A brilliant book that shows conclusively that transnational actors have taken their place alongside states in setting social policy in Europe. Through careful and comprehensive case studies of a wide range of South East European countries, this volume systematically presents a wealth of new data on transnational actor interventions. It helps to shape an emerging debate on the relative power of transnational and domestic actors and makes a unique empirical contribution to the discussion. The authors have done an amazing job of coordinated digging and produced some impressive results. Mitchell Orenstein, Johns Hopkins University, US This comprehensive and engaging book investigates the role of international actors in the making of social policy in South East Europe. Introductory chapters on transnationalism and Europeanization are followed by a series of nine linked case studies depicting research undertaken within this region. The book charts the variable influence that international actors such as formal organizations, non-governmental organizations, consulting companies and individual transnational policy entrepreneurs have on key policy issues, including pensions, social protection, labour markets and health. The authors conclude that welfare settlements are a complex product of historical and institutional legacies, the neo-liberal interventions of the World Bank, the emerging impact of the EU, and the crowded international arena resulting from war and post-war reconstruction agendas. Written by leading researchers in the field, Social Policy and International Interventions in South East Europe will be of great interest to researchers and students of social policy, policy studies and regional studies, as well as policymakers within international and governmental organizations.

The Human Geography of East Central Europe examines the geography of the transition economies that were not formerly part of the Soviet Union: Albania, Bosnia & Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Yugoslavia and East Germany. There is a thematic treatment beginning with the landscape and historical background, which moves on to the social and economic geography (industry, agriculture and infrastructure) and to issues concerning regional development and environmental protection.

This innovative volume analyzes historical, strategic and domestic political influences on the character and dynamics of the European Union's eastern enlargement. Its main focus is on interactions between Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, in political-diplomatic, commercial-economic and socio-cultural fields. The book also examines the wider European and international contexts to show that as enlargement advanced, we also witnessed an increase in the potential for conflict among EU members, old and new. Steve Wood provides an eclectic and topical appraisal, which identifies the German state as the crucial actor in both the enlargement venture and parallel processes of bilateral reconciliation. The book is recommended to those with interests in contemporary Germany, Central and Eastern Europe, and European integration.

The overwhelming majority of Jews who laid the foundations of the Israeli state during the first half of the twentieth century came from the Polish lands and the Russian Empire. This is a fact widely known, yet its implications for the history of Israel and the Middle East and, reciprocally, for the history of what was once the demographic heartland of the Jewish diaspora remain surprisingly ill-understood. Through fine-grained analyses of people, texts, movements, and worldviews in motion, the scholars assembled in From Europe's East to the Middle East—hailing from Europe, Israel, Japan, and the United States—rediscover a single transnational Jewish history of surprising connections, ideological cacophony, and entangled fates. Against the view of Israel as an outpost of the West, whether as a beacon of democracy or a creation of colonialism, this volume reveals how profoundly Zionism and Israel were shaped by the assumptions of Polish nationalism, Russian radicalism, and Soviet Communism; the unique ethos of the East European intelligentsia; and the political legacies of civil and national strife in the East European "shatter-zone." Against the view that Zionism effected a complete break from the diaspora that had birthed it, the book sheds new light on the East European sources of phenomena as diverse as Zionist military culture, kibbutz socialism, and ultra-Orthodox education for girls. Finally, it reshapes our understanding of East European Jewish life, from the Tsarist Empire, to independent Poland, to the late Soviet Union. Looking past siloed histories of both Zionism and its opponents in Eastern Europe, the authors reconstruct Zionism's transnational character, charting unexpected continuities across East European and Israeli Jewish life, and revealing how Jews in Eastern Europe grew ever more entangled with the changing realities of Jewish society in Palestine.

Transregional connections play a fundamental role in the history of East-Central Europe. This volume explores this connectivity by showing how people from eastern and central parts of Europe have positioned themselves within global processes while, in turn, also shaping them. The contributions examine different fields of action such as economy, arts, international regulations and law, development aid, and migration, focusing on the period between the middle of the nineteenth century and the end of the Cold War. The authors uncover spaces of interaction and emphasize that internal and external entanglements have established East-Central Europe as a distinct region. Understanding the connectedness of this subregion is stimulating for the historiography of East-Central Europe as it is for the field of global history.

The collapse of communism in Central, East and South-East Europe (CESEE) led to great hopes for the region and for Europe. A quarter of a century on, the picture is mixed: in many CESEE countries, the transformation process is incomplete, and the economic catch-up has taken longer than anticipated. The current situation has highlighted the need for a better understanding of the long-term political and economic implications of the Central, East and South-East European historical experience. This thematically organised text offers a clear and comprehensive guide to the economic history of CESEE from 1800 to the present day. Bringing together authors from both East and West, the book also draws on the cutting-edge research of a new generation of scholars from the CESEE region. Presenting a thoroughly modern overview of the history of the region, the text will be invaluable to students of economic history and CESEE area studies.

Discusses one of the major currents leading to the fall of communism. Falk examines the intellectual dissident movements in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary from the late 1960s through to 1989. In spite of its historic significance, no other comprehensive survey has appeared on the subject. In addition to the huge list of written sources from samizdat works to recent essays, Falks sources include interviews with many personalities of those events as well as videos and films (including Oscar winners).

Fourteen specialists from across the European Union discuss current issues regarding Middle Eastern and North African immigrants in Europe, focusing on topics such as immigration legislation, assimilation, integration, multiculturalism, community formation, citizenship, political participation, and religious and cultural identities. This book was previously published as a special issue of the journal Immigrants and Minorities.

The postcommunist regimes in East-Central Europe are confronted with the double challenge of establishing a democratic order and a market economy. The book discusses the concepts of democratic consolidation and analyzes the development of attitudes towards the political and economic system in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia. The study compares the political values in East-Central Europe with respective attitudes in the USA and Western Europe. Special attention is given to experiences of the consolidation process in Germany, Italy and Austria after 1945 as well as the more recent developments in Latin America and Southern Europe. The final chapter discusses patterns and paths of democratic consolidation in the light of concepts of regime change.