This book examines the transformation of the state in Central and Eastern Europe since the end of communism and adoption of market oriented reform in the early 1990s, exploring the impact of globalization and economic liberalization on the region’s states, societies and political economy. It compares the different policies and national strategies adopted by key Central and Eastern European states, including the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, showing how initial internally oriented strategies of market reform, privileging domestic sources of investment, had by the late 1990s given way to externally oriented strategies emphasising the promotion of competitiveness by attracting foreign investment. It explores the reasons behind this convergence, considering the influence of internal and external forces, and the roles of interests, institutions and ideas. It argues that internationalization of the state is forged in the processes through which domestic groups linked to transnational capital attain domestic influence necessary to shape state policy and strategy. These groups — the comprador service sector in particular — constitute and organize political, social and institutional support of the competition state in the region. Overall, this book not only provides a detailed account of the political economy of post-communist transformation in Central and Eastern Europe, but also the processes by which states adapt to the forces of globalization.

This open access Palgrave Pivot explores four major aspects of globalization: foreign trade, capital and information flows, and the movement of people. The book examines how the state socialist countries of East Central Europe fit into the general trend of globalization after WWII. It focuses on three specific countries in the region: Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. The study also considers conceptual problems: whether recently introduced terms such as 'alternative globalization' and 'socialist proto-globalization' are plausible for interpreting state socialist globalization. Special attention is paid to the study of continuities and discontinuities in the process of globalization in East Central Europe, which is a key issue in current debates. This requires a long-term perspective, so the study covers not only the decades before 1989 but also subsequent developments. In doing so, the book attempts to find a balance between old and new mainstream interpretations: it recognises that East Central European societies experienced considerable globalization during the state socialist era; however, based on empirical findings, instead of 'alternative' or 'proto-' globalization, the book suggests other notions to conceptualize this process, including fragmentation, selectivity, and unevenness. Thus, the proposed understanding could also contribute to discussions on globalization beyond East Central Europe. Béla Tomka is a professor of Contemporary Social and Economic History at the University of Szeged, Hungary. He is the author of 16 books including Welfare in East and West (2004), A Social History of Twentieth-Century Europe (2013, winner of 'Outstanding Academic Title 2013 Award' by Choice, American Library Association), Austerities and Aspirations: A Comparative History of Growth, Consumption and Quality of Life in East Central Europe since 1945 (2020), and the editor of several other volumes. He is the head of the Department of Contemporary History, University of Szeged, co-founder and board member of the International Social History Association, Amsterdam, as well as leader of the History of Globalization Research Group, Budapest-Szeged, established by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

This timely book assesses how Europe’s welfare states have dealt with the challenges of globalisation and the financial crisis. It asks whether the European Union has adopted a general strategy for dealing with four major threats to the sustainable development of European societies: the employability of a growing number of redundant workers, an aging population, low birth rates and the persistent problem of gender inequality. The book will be an important read for social policy scholars, particularly those focusing on European welfare states, how they differ and lessons to be learnt from them. It also highlights key lessons from a broad range of case studies to help policymakers in understanding how and where improvements may be made in the future.

This book seeks to counter the recent trend of speculation about the impact of globalization upon welfare states. It begins by asking two related questions: 'What exactly is globalization?' 'How, if at all, has globalization been implicated in recent changes to European welfare states?' The book combines both theoretical and empirical analysis to provide a critical account of the relationship between globalization and change in European welfare states. Firstly the key theoretical and conceptual debates are reviewed and the existing perspectives on globalization and welfare policy change are assessed. The text moves on to explore and challenge the more apocalyptic economic perspectives on globalization and welfare that suggest permanent retrenchment. The discussion includes an outline and assessment of the role of international organisations such as the World Bank and the EU. All the major types of European national welfare system are considered: Bismarkian, Southern, Central and Eastern European, Nordic and Liberal. Individual chapters outline recent welfare policy changes in the European countries of each system, and the role of globalization in such changes. This ground-breaking text provides new empirical and theoretical perspectives on links between globalization and European welfare state change. It will be important reading for students and academics in the fields of social policy, politics, international relations, European studies and related fields.

European politicians often speak of their efforts to 'manage globalization.' At one level, this is merely a rhetorical device to make globalization more palatable to citizens and prove that policy-makers are still firmly in control of their country’s fate. This volume argues that the advocacy of managed globalization goes beyond rhetoric and actually has been a primary driver of major European Union (EU) policies in the past twenty years. The EU has indeed tried to manage globalization through the use of five major mechanisms: 1) expanding policy scope 2) exercising regulatory influence 3) empowering international institutions 4) enlarging the territorial sphere of EU influence, and 5) redistributing the costs of globalization. These mechanisms are neither entirely novel, nor are they always effective but they provide the contours of an approach to globalization that is neither ad hoc deregulation, nor old-style economic protectionism. The recent financial crisis may have seemed initially to vindicate the European efforts to manage globalization, but it also represented the limits of such efforts without the full participation of the US and China. The EU cannot rig the game of globalization, but it can try to provide predictability, oversight, and regularity with rules that accommodate European interests. This book was based on a special issue of Journal of European Public Policy.

This book investigates the ways in which city regions view themselves as single entities, how they are governed, what is meant by ‘governance’, why the question of city-regional governance matters, and the extent to which the balance between internal and external factors is important for finding governance solutions. Examples from North America and Europe are compared and contrasted to gain a better understanding of what matters ‘on the ground’ to people and policy makers when seeking answers to the challenges of a globalised, rapidly changing world. In order to analyse the conditions involved in making local decisions, the author looks at the impact of established policy-making practices, socio-economic patterns among the population, existing views of the ‘local’ and the ‘regional’ and their respective roles among the electorate and policy makers, and the scope for building city-regional governance under given statutory and fiscal provisions. The complex interaction of these factors is shown to produce place-specific forms and modi operandi for governing city regions as local-regional constructs. This book will be of interest to urban and regional policy makers and scholars working in the fields of economic geography and political geography.

With the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, Central and Eastern European states have had to confront fundamental changes in economic, social, and governmental structures. So far, many of these countries in transition from a command to a market-based system have experienced rapid deterioration of socioeconomic conditions and standards of living. Although there have been successes in some areas, such as greater political and consumer choices, the overall situation has reached crisis proportions, as evidenced by increased unemployment, crime, and family disorganization. The essays in this collection address significant issues dealing with the frameworks of social justice and equality, policies for families and women, implications for the welfare state, and the impact on health care. As such, the collection is invaluable for all scholars and researchers involved with contemporary Central and Eastern European public policy and social conditions.

This book brings together the study of transnationalization in three institutional fields: civil society, state and the economy. It also extends the research of processes of transnationalization to evolving new democracies and emerging market economies.

This book explores the links between European integration and globalisation, and examines the potential for social transformation in the context of the global economic crisis and the resulting EU reforms. Divided into three parts, this book offers both empirical and theoretical analyses of social integration, supranationality and global competition. Drawing on Critical Political Economy research, Neo-Gramscian, Open Marxist, Regulationist and Post-structuralist scholars subject a wide range of European flagship policies in matters of competition, trade and security to critical scrutiny and relate them to global political economy dynamics. Contributors examine the ways in which current global economic turbulence has affected the European Union, its membership and its adjacent areas, and determine the potential for economic and political transformation in light of the global economic crisis and Europe’s 2020 Strategy. In the emerging multi-polar world, in which the EU and the US are expected to share global policymaking with new powers, this book argues for a revised conceptualisation of European integration and its relationship with globalisation. Globalisation and European Integration will be of interest to students, scholars and researchers of globalisation, political economy, international relations, and European Union politics.

A combination of rigorous analysis and case material; this book is an essential guide to trade and industry developments in Central and Eastern Europe. Its scope encompasses globalization, the business strategies of MNCs, agriculture, services and the dynamics of innovation. It also considers the trading relationships of these countries with Russia as well as the influence of trade on the democratization of states formerly belonging to the USSR.