Politico-cultural turmoil, shifting national borders and diverse ethnic communities. Join 24 insightful lectures as empires rise and fall and gain deeper insights into Europe.
Eastern European nations include Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia as well as Russia and Ukraine; Romania and Serbia may also be included within this area of geography.
History
Eastern Europe, stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, is a fascinating area with a vibrant history. Discover its remarkable story – from early invasions and communism’s collapse, through modern challenges, poets, writers and artists who helped shaped its evolution – through brilliant poets, writers and artists who contributed significantly to shaping this fascinating region’s story.
This course provides an introductory survey of Central and Eastern Europe since 1700 in terms of politics, economics, and society. Students may choose East-Central Europe from (at least) 1700 onward as their subfield to tailor their studies more closely to their specific interests.
This course will examine the formation and evolution of European state systems as well as political, social and cultural developments across Central and Eastern Europe from various angles. Students will develop skills necessary to recognize and analyze Eastern European history and culture while simultaneously understanding how fundamental issues shape modern life.
It will also explore the complicated relationship between Western nations and Eastern European states, the legacy of colonialism and imperialism on current states of Eastern Europe, as well as how each has responded or adjusted to globalization.
Students will also gain insight into the many waves of migration that have shaped countries and cultures in this region. Interactions among Germanic tribes, Slavic peoples, Jews and other religious groups created a rich heritage while creating conditions for future political problems.
The 2nd Edition of this text provides new scholars in Eastern European studies with an excellent resource. It summarizes modern linguistic, geographic and religious contours as well as post-Cold War developments, providing boxed anecdotes and charts to make sense of geographic name references as well as visualize shifting political, economic and demographic conditions in Eastern Europe. With its broad scope and more traditional historiographical approach it serves as an excellent introduction before delving deeper into specific nations or periods.
Economy
Eastern Europe’s economic miracle is remarkable, given that it took place during a global recession that was deep and protracted. Yet there are signs of fragility: young people with education and technical skills are leaving their homelands for opportunities abroad due to both lack of economic prospects in home countries as well as political instability or disconnection from European institutions such as the European Union.
After communism collapsed, its successor states and central and eastern european countries that had been part of the Soviet bloc began working toward building capitalist economies similar to those seen in western europe. To do this, they were required to privatize property such as trucks, housing units, shops, foreign trading firms, commercial banks and massive industrial concerns – including prices being freed up from central control before auctioning or leasing physical assets for sale or leaseback agreements were sold at auctions or leaseback agreements. But the longer process of writing laws, establishing capitalist institutions as well as modernizing and restructuring industry can take time and requires considerable patience on their part.
One of the key aspects of economic transformation has been opening up to international trade. This has brought instantaneous competition to domestic monopoly power of monolithic state enterprises, greatly decreasing domestic monopoly power, and has greatly accelerated convergence with core european economies such as Germany.
However, the initial period of institutional convergence seems to be coming to an end. Right-wing populism movements that swept across the region in 2015 and 2016 have begun eroding democracy, breaking constitutional orders, and even introducing forms of authoritarianism. Furthermore, EU migration policy has created immense tensions making further expansion implausible.
“Europe” is an extremely complex concept and depends on factors like geography, geology, politics, history and culture – for instance Lonely Planet’s Eastern Europe guide book includes Slovenia but excludes Greece! So clearly Europe cannot simply be defined geographically!
Politics
Thirty years ago, Europe witnessed an uplifting renaissance as walls fell and long-oppressed publics embraced open societies and open markets. But today, many Europeans from former eastern bloc countries express doubt and pessimism regarding democracy’s future in their countries; many citizens in these nations are dissatisfied with how democracy functions in their countries.
Eastern Europe can be defined in various ways, from geographic to political ones. Most often it refers to European nations which were under communist regimes before 1989; however, other areas with distinct history or culture such as Scandinavia in northern Europe or Italy and Greece in southern Europe can also fall within its purview. Eastern Europe typically comprises countries like Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland Slovakia Slovenia but may include western sections of Belarus Ukraine as part of Central Europe; however this classification has become increasingly controversial over time.
Though many former Soviet states may show evidence of backsliding, most are generally recognized as democracies by international institutions and ratings services like Freedom House or Polity. Most countries possess strong electoral systems and functional legal systems. Their corruption levels tend to be lower than in Western Europe, as well as free from military interference by their major allies.
But even with these improvements, many citizens of the former eastern bloc feel their democratic institutions do not operate effectively due to widespread antipathy toward democracy in the West and a lack of democratic culture within these nations. Furthermore, Stalinist rule and centuries of colonialism has created expectations that normality must come from outside; while Western culture seems far superior in economics, technology, politics etc.
NDI works to overcome expectations that political, civic, and economic processes should be participative in engaging citizens, accountable in using government power responsibly, and resilient against external threats. We do so through publishing original scholarship on individual countries in Central and Eastern Europe as well as cross-country comparative analyses that compare post-communist regions with others around the globe.
Ethnicity
Post-Soviet Europe has seen an intensification of national identity since 1991, as more people claim they are European rather than just citizens of their particular nation. This phenomenon, sometimes known as “pan-European identity,” can be interpreted as an indicator that people feel more strongly bound together as Europeans than just citizens of any given nation state. Pan-European identity serves both to complement integration efforts of former Soviet states into Western Europe and more generally into the EU; as well as providing a safeguard against autocratic, populist or polarizing politics that have taken hold in some nations since 1991 in response to Russian influence.
An awareness of a shared European identity, sometimes referred to as post-national or “post-European”, can help bridge political divisions and foster cooperation across borders. Furthermore, this sense of Europeanness also serves as a model for addressing transnational problems like corruption and inequality that cut across national boundaries.
However, this sense of pan-European identity is complicated by the fact that most countries in the region are ethnically divided – an ethnic division which dates back to Imperial and Soviet Russia era lands becoming home for linguistically and geographically distinct groups.
Orthodox Christian groups are especially noteworthy, accounting for majorities or significant minorities in Russia, Ukraine and Greece; large minorities can also be found in Bosnia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Other Christians such as Catholics and Lutherans comprise pluralities across several countries while Muslims make up a small percentage. Furthermore, most Eastern Europeans identify with their larger Slavic population.
These ethnic-linguistic divisions have created difficulty for countries attempting to develop an inclusive political culture that could support an easy democratization process. Cultures unable to fully accept norms like free elections, separation of powers and private property make convergence with more open societies like Western Europe even more challenging.
If you have East European ancestry, taking an at-home DNA test can give you more insight into your heritage and help connect you to distant family members. Such tests offer a snapshot of which regions in the world best match up with your genetic makeup as well as provide information about any distant family connections that might exist.