Eastern Europe in Crisis and the Way Out

Eastern Europe in Crisis and the Way Out

Author: Christopher Saunders

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-07-27

Total Pages: 528

ISBN-13: 1349136425

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In this volume practitioners and theorists from East and West assess the results of four years of transformation in Eastern Europe. In a general assessment of the stabilisation policies pursued, some authors take a critical view of the 'conventional' monetary and fiscal restrictive programmes which have helped to bring down inflation and to introduce elements of the market economy, but have also left the economies concerned with heavily reduced output and real incomes. An evolutionary strategy of structural transformation, and demand management should play a primary role in recovery from the 'transformational recession'. Further issues discussed are the reform of the financial sector; liberalisation of foreign trade; privatisation and restructuring; and the social aspects of transformation.


Book Synopsis Eastern Europe in Crisis and the Way Out by : Christopher Saunders

Download or read book Eastern Europe in Crisis and the Way Out written by Christopher Saunders and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-07-27 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this volume practitioners and theorists from East and West assess the results of four years of transformation in Eastern Europe. In a general assessment of the stabilisation policies pursued, some authors take a critical view of the 'conventional' monetary and fiscal restrictive programmes which have helped to bring down inflation and to introduce elements of the market economy, but have also left the economies concerned with heavily reduced output and real incomes. An evolutionary strategy of structural transformation, and demand management should play a primary role in recovery from the 'transformational recession'. Further issues discussed are the reform of the financial sector; liberalisation of foreign trade; privatisation and restructuring; and the social aspects of transformation.


A History of Eastern Europe

A History of Eastern Europe

Author: Robert Bideleux

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 726

ISBN-13: 0415161126

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While mainly focusing on the modern era - the effects of ethnic nationalism, fascism and communism - this history also offers revisionist coverage of topics such as the Hussite Revolution, and the rise and decline of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.


Book Synopsis A History of Eastern Europe by : Robert Bideleux

Download or read book A History of Eastern Europe written by Robert Bideleux and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 726 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While mainly focusing on the modern era - the effects of ethnic nationalism, fascism and communism - this history also offers revisionist coverage of topics such as the Hussite Revolution, and the rise and decline of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.


Crisis and Reform in Eastern Europe

Crisis and Reform in Eastern Europe

Author: Ferenc Fehér

Publisher:

Published: 1991

Total Pages: 531

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis Crisis and Reform in Eastern Europe by : Ferenc Fehér

Download or read book Crisis and Reform in Eastern Europe written by Ferenc Fehér and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 531 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


The Last Shall Be the First: The East European Financial Crisis

The Last Shall Be the First: The East European Financial Crisis

Author: Anders Åslund

Publisher: Peterson Institute

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 137

ISBN-13: 0881326178

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Book Synopsis The Last Shall Be the First: The East European Financial Crisis by : Anders Åslund

Download or read book The Last Shall Be the First: The East European Financial Crisis written by Anders Åslund and published by Peterson Institute. This book was released on 2010 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Europe in Crisis

Europe in Crisis

Author: Ivan Berend

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-11-12

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 1136193340

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This book analyzes the European Great Recession of 2008-12, its economic and social causes, its historical roots, and the policies adopted by the European Union to find a way out of it. It contains explicit debates with several economists and analysts on some of the most controversial questions about the causes of the crisis and the policies applied by the European Union. It presents the cases of Iceland, Greece and Ireland, the countries that first declined into crisis in Europe, each of them in a different way. Iceland is a case study for reckless banking practices, Greece of reckless public spending, and Ireland of reckless household indebtedness. At least seven other countries, mostly from the peripheries of Europe, had similarly reckless banking and spending practices. In the center of the book are the economic and social causes of the crisis. Contemporary advanced capitalism became financialized, de-industrialized and globalized and got rid of the "straitjacket" of regulations. Solid banking was replaced by high-risk, "casino-type" activity. The European common currency also had a structural problem — monetary unification without a federal state and fiscal unification. The other side of the same coin is European hyper-consumerism. A new lifestyle emerged during two super-prosperous periods in the 1950s to 1960s, and during the 1990s to 2006. Trying to find an exit policy, the European Union turned to strict austerity measures to curb the budget deficit and indebtedness. This book critically analyzes the debate around austerity policy. The creation of important supra-national institutions, and of a financial supervisory authority and stability mechanisms, strengthens integration. The correction of the euro’s structural mistake by creating a quasi-fiscal unification is even more important. The introduction of mandatory fiscal rules and their supervision promises a long-term solution for a well-functioning common currency. These measures, meanwhile, create a two-tier European Union with a fast-track core. This book suggests that the European Union will emerge stronger from the crisis. This book will be of particular interest to students and researchers of economics, history, political science and international finance, but will also prove profitable reading for practitioners and the interested public.


Book Synopsis Europe in Crisis by : Ivan Berend

Download or read book Europe in Crisis written by Ivan Berend and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-11-12 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyzes the European Great Recession of 2008-12, its economic and social causes, its historical roots, and the policies adopted by the European Union to find a way out of it. It contains explicit debates with several economists and analysts on some of the most controversial questions about the causes of the crisis and the policies applied by the European Union. It presents the cases of Iceland, Greece and Ireland, the countries that first declined into crisis in Europe, each of them in a different way. Iceland is a case study for reckless banking practices, Greece of reckless public spending, and Ireland of reckless household indebtedness. At least seven other countries, mostly from the peripheries of Europe, had similarly reckless banking and spending practices. In the center of the book are the economic and social causes of the crisis. Contemporary advanced capitalism became financialized, de-industrialized and globalized and got rid of the "straitjacket" of regulations. Solid banking was replaced by high-risk, "casino-type" activity. The European common currency also had a structural problem — monetary unification without a federal state and fiscal unification. The other side of the same coin is European hyper-consumerism. A new lifestyle emerged during two super-prosperous periods in the 1950s to 1960s, and during the 1990s to 2006. Trying to find an exit policy, the European Union turned to strict austerity measures to curb the budget deficit and indebtedness. This book critically analyzes the debate around austerity policy. The creation of important supra-national institutions, and of a financial supervisory authority and stability mechanisms, strengthens integration. The correction of the euro’s structural mistake by creating a quasi-fiscal unification is even more important. The introduction of mandatory fiscal rules and their supervision promises a long-term solution for a well-functioning common currency. These measures, meanwhile, create a two-tier European Union with a fast-track core. This book suggests that the European Union will emerge stronger from the crisis. This book will be of particular interest to students and researchers of economics, history, political science and international finance, but will also prove profitable reading for practitioners and the interested public.


Exit-Voice Dynamics and the Collapse of East Germany

Exit-Voice Dynamics and the Collapse of East Germany

Author: Steven Pfaff

Publisher: Duke University Press

Published: 2006-07-10

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 0822387921

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Winner of the Social Science History Association President’s Book Award East Germany was the first domino to fall when the Soviet bloc began to collapse in 1989. Its topple was so swift and unusual that it caught many area specialists and social scientists off guard; they failed to recognize the instability of the Communist regime, much less its fatal vulnerability to popular revolt. In this volume, Steven Pfaff identifies the central mechanisms that propelled the extraordinary and surprisingly bloodless revolution within the German Democratic Republic (GDR). By developing a theory of how exit-voice dynamics affect collective action, Pfaff illuminates the processes that spurred mass demonstrations in the GDR, led to a peaceful surrender of power by the hard-line Leninist elite, and hastened German reunification. While most social scientific explanations of collective action posit that the option for citizens to emigrate—or exit—suppresses the organized voice of collective public protest by providing a lower-cost alternative to resistance, Pfaff argues that a different dynamic unfolded in East Germany. The mass exit of many citizens provided a focal point for protesters, igniting the insurgent voice of the revolution. Pfaff mines state and party records, police reports, samizdat, Church documents, and dissident manifestoes for his in-depth analysis not only of the genesis of local protest but also of the broader patterns of exit and voice across the entire GDR. Throughout his inquiry, Pfaff compares the East German rebellion with events occurring during the same period in other communist states, particularly Czechoslovakia, China, Poland, and Hungary. He suggests that a trigger from outside the political system—such as exit—is necessary to initiate popular mobilization against regimes with tightly centralized power and coercive surveillance.


Book Synopsis Exit-Voice Dynamics and the Collapse of East Germany by : Steven Pfaff

Download or read book Exit-Voice Dynamics and the Collapse of East Germany written by Steven Pfaff and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2006-07-10 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Social Science History Association President’s Book Award East Germany was the first domino to fall when the Soviet bloc began to collapse in 1989. Its topple was so swift and unusual that it caught many area specialists and social scientists off guard; they failed to recognize the instability of the Communist regime, much less its fatal vulnerability to popular revolt. In this volume, Steven Pfaff identifies the central mechanisms that propelled the extraordinary and surprisingly bloodless revolution within the German Democratic Republic (GDR). By developing a theory of how exit-voice dynamics affect collective action, Pfaff illuminates the processes that spurred mass demonstrations in the GDR, led to a peaceful surrender of power by the hard-line Leninist elite, and hastened German reunification. While most social scientific explanations of collective action posit that the option for citizens to emigrate—or exit—suppresses the organized voice of collective public protest by providing a lower-cost alternative to resistance, Pfaff argues that a different dynamic unfolded in East Germany. The mass exit of many citizens provided a focal point for protesters, igniting the insurgent voice of the revolution. Pfaff mines state and party records, police reports, samizdat, Church documents, and dissident manifestoes for his in-depth analysis not only of the genesis of local protest but also of the broader patterns of exit and voice across the entire GDR. Throughout his inquiry, Pfaff compares the East German rebellion with events occurring during the same period in other communist states, particularly Czechoslovakia, China, Poland, and Hungary. He suggests that a trigger from outside the political system—such as exit—is necessary to initiate popular mobilization against regimes with tightly centralized power and coercive surveillance.


Europe in Crisis

Europe in Crisis

Author: Mark Hewitson

Publisher: Berghahn Books

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 0857457276

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The period between 1917 and 1957, starting with the birth of the USSR and the American intervention in the First World War and ending with the Treaty of Rome, is of the utmost importance for contextualizing and understanding the intellectual origins of the European Community. During this time of 'crisis,' many contemporaries, especially intellectuals, felt they faced a momentous decision which could bring about a radically different future. The understanding of what Europe was and what it should be was questioned in a profound way, forcing Europeans to react. The idea of a specifically European unity finally became, at least for some, a feasible project, not only to avoid another war but to avoid the destruction of the idea of European unity. This volume reassesses the relationship between ideas of Europe and the European project and reconsiders the impact of long and short-term political transformations on assumptions about the continent's scope, nature, role and significance.


Book Synopsis Europe in Crisis by : Mark Hewitson

Download or read book Europe in Crisis written by Mark Hewitson and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2012 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The period between 1917 and 1957, starting with the birth of the USSR and the American intervention in the First World War and ending with the Treaty of Rome, is of the utmost importance for contextualizing and understanding the intellectual origins of the European Community. During this time of 'crisis,' many contemporaries, especially intellectuals, felt they faced a momentous decision which could bring about a radically different future. The understanding of what Europe was and what it should be was questioned in a profound way, forcing Europeans to react. The idea of a specifically European unity finally became, at least for some, a feasible project, not only to avoid another war but to avoid the destruction of the idea of European unity. This volume reassesses the relationship between ideas of Europe and the European project and reconsiders the impact of long and short-term political transformations on assumptions about the continent's scope, nature, role and significance.


Beyond NATO

Beyond NATO

Author: Michael E. O'Hanlon

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2017-08-15

Total Pages: 171

ISBN-13: 0815732589

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In this new Brookings Marshall Paper, Michael O'Hanlon argues that now is the time for Western nations to negotiate a new security architecture for neutral countries in eastern Europe to stabilize the region and reduce the risks of war with Russia. He believes NATO expansion has gone far enough. The core concept of this new security architecture would be one of permanent neutrality. The countries in question collectively make a broken-up arc, from Europe's far north to its south: Finland and Sweden; Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus; Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan; and finally Cyprus plus Serbia, as well as possibly several other Balkan states. Discussion on the new framework should begin within NATO, followed by deliberation with the neutral countries themselves, and then formal negotiations with Russia. The new security architecture would require that Russia, like NATO, commit to help uphold the security of Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and other states in the region. Russia would have to withdraw its troops from those countries in a verifiable manner; after that, corresponding sanctions on Russia would be lifted. The neutral countries would retain their rights to participate in multilateral security operations on a scale comparable to what has been the case in the past, including even those operations that might be led by NATO. They could think of and describe themselves as Western states (or anything else, for that matter). If the European Union and they so wished in the future, they could join the EU. They would have complete sovereignty and self-determination in every sense of the word. But NATO would decide not to invite them into the alliance as members. Ideally, these nations would endorse and promote this concept themselves as a more practical way to ensure their security than the current situation or any other plausible alternative.


Book Synopsis Beyond NATO by : Michael E. O'Hanlon

Download or read book Beyond NATO written by Michael E. O'Hanlon and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2017-08-15 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this new Brookings Marshall Paper, Michael O'Hanlon argues that now is the time for Western nations to negotiate a new security architecture for neutral countries in eastern Europe to stabilize the region and reduce the risks of war with Russia. He believes NATO expansion has gone far enough. The core concept of this new security architecture would be one of permanent neutrality. The countries in question collectively make a broken-up arc, from Europe's far north to its south: Finland and Sweden; Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus; Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan; and finally Cyprus plus Serbia, as well as possibly several other Balkan states. Discussion on the new framework should begin within NATO, followed by deliberation with the neutral countries themselves, and then formal negotiations with Russia. The new security architecture would require that Russia, like NATO, commit to help uphold the security of Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and other states in the region. Russia would have to withdraw its troops from those countries in a verifiable manner; after that, corresponding sanctions on Russia would be lifted. The neutral countries would retain their rights to participate in multilateral security operations on a scale comparable to what has been the case in the past, including even those operations that might be led by NATO. They could think of and describe themselves as Western states (or anything else, for that matter). If the European Union and they so wished in the future, they could join the EU. They would have complete sovereignty and self-determination in every sense of the word. But NATO would decide not to invite them into the alliance as members. Ideally, these nations would endorse and promote this concept themselves as a more practical way to ensure their security than the current situation or any other plausible alternative.


The Light that Failed

The Light that Failed

Author: Ivan Krastev

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2019-10-31

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 0241345715

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A landmark book that completely transforms our understanding of the crisis of liberalism, from two pre-eminent intellectuals Why did the West, after winning the Cold War, lose its political balance? In the early 1990s, hopes for the eastward spread of liberal democracy were high. And yet the transformation of Eastern European countries gave rise to a bitter repudiation of liberalism itself, not only there but also back in the heartland of the West. In this brilliant work of political psychology, Ivan Krastev and Stephen Holmes argue that the supposed end of history turned out to be only the beginning of an Age of Imitation. Reckoning with the history of the last thirty years, they show that the most powerful force behind the wave of populist xenophobia that began in Eastern Europe stems from resentment at the post-1989 imperative to become Westernized. Through this prism, the Trump revolution represents an ironic fulfillment of the promise that the nations exiting from communist rule would come to resemble the United States. In a strange twist, Trump has elevated Putin's Russia and Orbán's Hungary into models for the United States. Written by two pre-eminent intellectuals bridging the East/West divide, The Light that Failed is a landmark book that sheds light on the extraordinary history of our Age of Imitation.


Book Synopsis The Light that Failed by : Ivan Krastev

Download or read book The Light that Failed written by Ivan Krastev and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2019-10-31 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A landmark book that completely transforms our understanding of the crisis of liberalism, from two pre-eminent intellectuals Why did the West, after winning the Cold War, lose its political balance? In the early 1990s, hopes for the eastward spread of liberal democracy were high. And yet the transformation of Eastern European countries gave rise to a bitter repudiation of liberalism itself, not only there but also back in the heartland of the West. In this brilliant work of political psychology, Ivan Krastev and Stephen Holmes argue that the supposed end of history turned out to be only the beginning of an Age of Imitation. Reckoning with the history of the last thirty years, they show that the most powerful force behind the wave of populist xenophobia that began in Eastern Europe stems from resentment at the post-1989 imperative to become Westernized. Through this prism, the Trump revolution represents an ironic fulfillment of the promise that the nations exiting from communist rule would come to resemble the United States. In a strange twist, Trump has elevated Putin's Russia and Orbán's Hungary into models for the United States. Written by two pre-eminent intellectuals bridging the East/West divide, The Light that Failed is a landmark book that sheds light on the extraordinary history of our Age of Imitation.


Merchants and Revolution

Merchants and Revolution

Author: Robert Brenner

Publisher: Verso Books

Published: 2020-05-05

Total Pages: 718

ISBN-13: 1789608856

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Merchants and Revolution examines the activities of London's merchant community during the early Stuart period. Proposing a new understanding of long-term commercial change, Robert Brenner explains the factors behind the opening of long-distance commerce to the south and east, describing how the great City merchants wielded power to exploit emerging business opportunities, and he profiles the new colonial traders, who became the chief architects of the Commonwealth's dynamic commercial policy.


Book Synopsis Merchants and Revolution by : Robert Brenner

Download or read book Merchants and Revolution written by Robert Brenner and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2020-05-05 with total page 718 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Merchants and Revolution examines the activities of London's merchant community during the early Stuart period. Proposing a new understanding of long-term commercial change, Robert Brenner explains the factors behind the opening of long-distance commerce to the south and east, describing how the great City merchants wielded power to exploit emerging business opportunities, and he profiles the new colonial traders, who became the chief architects of the Commonwealth's dynamic commercial policy.