scholarly journals Democratic Transition Research: From Western to Post-Soviet East European Scholarship

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Oleinikova
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Democratic Transition ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Structure Approach ◽  
East European ◽  
Structure And Agency ◽  
Transition Research ◽  
Communist Government

This paper is the first of its kind to provide a comparative overview of Western (Western European and North American) and post-Soviet East European transition theories and literature that can be used to understand specifics of post-Soviet transition in Eastern Europe. Bridging the two broad theoretical traditions of East and West, and taking Ukraine as a case study, this literature review adds to the transition literature a discussion that relates to the emergence and interplay of structure and agency theories since the 1950s. In particular, the review sets out the various ways in which the transition from post-Communist government to democracy has been theorized, from a structuralist to an agency-structure approach. Meanwhile, it puts new wind into the sails of the idea that the interplay of structure and agency is more relevant to understanding the transition in Ukraine—reflecting similar dynamics in other post-Communist Eastern European states. This review is a good starting source for those who want to understand the roots of democratic transition research and theories.

Looking at European Sports from an Eastern European Perspective: Football in the Multi-ethnic Polish Territories

2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 595-610
Author(s):  
Anke Hilbrenner ◽  
Britta Lenz
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Initial Phase ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
European Perspective ◽  
Sports History ◽  
East European ◽  
Slow Diffusion ◽  
Sporting Culture ◽  
New Research

Until recently, sports history has largely neglected Eastern Europe. Yet new research has shown that historians need to embrace a perspective from the periphery towards the centre, and reach beyond the paradigms of modernization, Sovietization, and the nation-state if Europe's sporting culture is to be fully understood. Focusing primarily on Poland, this article outlines three features peculiar to the region. First, it stresses the importance of trans-national spaces and networks as well as European sub-regions. Missing out on the initial phase of sport's internationalization due to lack of independence, the development of Polish sport was regionally distinct. Sports flourished in Habsburg-ruled Galicia (in Cracow and Lodz especially) under relatively liberal political authorities, but developed more slowly and under different influences elsewhere. Second, the prominence of rural Galicia, inhabited by traditional groups such as Ukrainian peasants or Chassidic Jews, shows that Polish sport did not evolve in line with modernization and industrialization. The relatively slow diffusion of sport in industrial centres such as Warsaw or Silesia contradicts the paradigm of modernization and the notion of East European backwardness. Third, sport history sheds light on phenomena such as multi-ethnicity, migration, integration or disintegration.

scholarly journals Back to the kitchen? Gender role attitudes in 13 East European countries

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Éva Fodor ◽  
Anikó Balogh
Keyword(s):  
Gender Role ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Important Determinant ◽  
Gender Role Attitudes ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Opinion Formation ◽  
East European ◽  
Material Conditions

This paper explores the determinants of gender role opinions in 13 post-communist Eastern European societies using survey data from the project EUREQUAL. Our main findings consist of two parts. First, contrary to the expectations of scholars who emphasize the lack of gender/feminist consciousness in Eastern Europe, we argue that gender indeed is an important determinant of gender role opinions in post-communist societies: as elsewhere women express more liberal attitudes than men. Second, we argue that the interaction of other determinants of gender role opinions with gender also follows patterns described in the literature for more developed capitalist countries. In this respect, therefore, East European countries seem to fit the general trends of gender role opinion formation. As explanation we point to a connection between women’s material conditions and their gender role attitudes, not denying the importance of cultural difference – if primarily as exception – to this process. Zusammenfassung Dieser Artikel untersucht, auf Basis von Umfragedaten des EUREQUAL-Projektes, die Determinanten von Einstellungen zu Geschlechterrollen in 13 postkommunistischen osteuropäischen Gesellschaften. Unsere Hauptergebnisse bestehen aus zwei Teilen. Erstens: Wir legen dar, dass – entgegen den Erwartungen von Wissenschaftler(inne)n, die das Fehlen eines Gender- oder feministischen Bewusstseins betonen – dass Gender in postkommunistischen Gesellschaften tatsächlich eine wichtige Determinante der Meinungen über die Geschlechterrollen ist: Wie auch anderswo bringen Frauen liberalere Einstellungen als Männer zum Ausdruck. Zweitens: Wir argumentieren, dass die Interaktion anderer Determinanten der Meinungen zu den Geschlechterrollen mit Gender gleichfalls den Mustern folgt, die in der Literatur im Bezug auf weiter entwickelte kapitalistische Gesellschaften beschrieben werden. In dieser Hinsicht scheinen die osteuropäischen Gesellschaften sich den allgemeinen Trends der Herausbildung von Meinungen zu den Geschlechterrollen anzugleichen. Zur Erklärung verweisen wir auf den Zusammenhang zwischen den materiellen Lebensbedingungen von Frauen und ihren Einstellungen zu den Geschlechterrollen, ohne jedoch die Bedeutsamkeit kultureller Unterschiede – wenn sie auch eher Ausnahmen sind – abzustreiten.

Deutscher, Lenin and the East-European Perspectives

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 3-28
Author(s):  
Tamás Krausz
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Analysis ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
October Revolution ◽  
State Socialism ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
East European ◽  
Marxist Analysis

The article introduces the reception of Isaac Deutscher’s work in Eastern Europe in a historical context and shows how deeply this reception was connected to the various transformations of the system, which had been established after the victory of the Russian October Revolution. The author gives a Marxist analysis of the historical development of state socialism and the various changes in Eastern-European Marxist thought which accompanied this history. He belongs to that school of thought which defines this system as state socialism, and he gives a theoretical analysis of its main characteristics, adding that 1989 failed to fulfil the expectations and hopes of many Western and Eastern-European Marxists.

Memory Wars in the East European Frontier: In Search of Research Methodology

2021 ◽  
pp. 55-63
Author(s):  
Daniil A. Anikin ◽  
◽  
Andrey A. Linchenko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Politics Of Memory ◽  
East European ◽  
German Model ◽  
Western European ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Soviet Legacy ◽  
The Impact

Within the framework of this article, the theoretical and methodological framework of the philosophical interpretation of the concept “memory wars” was analyzed. In the context of criticism of allochronism and the project of the politics of time by B. Bevernage, as well as the concept of the frontier by F. Turner, the space-time aspects of the content of memory wars were comprehended. The use of Bevernage's ideas made it possible to explain the nature of modern memory wars in Europe. The origins of these wars are associated with an attempt to transfer the Western European project of “cosmopolitan” memory, in which Western Europe turns out to be a kind of a “referential” framework of historical modernity, to the countries of Eastern Europe after 1989. The uncritical use of Western European historical experience as a “reference” leads to a superficial copying of the politics of memory, which runs counter to the politics of the time in Eastern Europe. In Eastern Europe, the idea of two totalitarianisms is presented as a single and internally indistinguishable era, and the politics of modern post-socialist states are based on the idea of a radical spatio-temporal distancing from their recent past. The article analyzes the issue of the specifics of the Eastern European frontier, the conditions for its emergence and the impact on modern forms of implementation of the politics of memory. The frontier arises as a result of the collapse of the colonial empires and becomes a space of symbolic struggle, first between the USSR and Germany, and then between the socialist and capitalist blocs. The crisis of the globalist project of the politics of memory and the transfer of the German model of victimization to the territory of the Eastern European frontier leads to the competition of sacrificial narratives and the escalation of memorial conflicts, turning into full-fledged memory wars. The hybrid nature of the antagonistic politics of memory in the conditions of the frontier leads to the fact that not only the socialist past, but also the national trauma of individual states becomes the subject of memory wars. The increasing complexity of the mnemonic structure of the frontier is associated with the emergence of a number of unrecognized states, whose memory politics, in contrast to the national discourses of Eastern European states, is based on a synthesis of the Soviet legacy and individual elements of the imperial past.

OIL SPILL RESPONSE PLANNING IN EASTERN EUROPE: A BULGARIAN CASE STUDY

1995 ◽  
Vol 1995 (1) ◽  
pp. 767-773
Author(s):  
Hilary Hoagland-Grey ◽  
David Archer
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Response Strategy ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Response Planning ◽  
International Response ◽  
The Face ◽  
Oil Spill Response

ABSTRACT The opening of Eastern Europe to western companies has created a need for international cooperation between these companies and Eastern European governments. This new relationship presents a particular challenge for the oil industry as well as an opportunity for emerging governments to benefit from western companies’ experience. In 1993, Texaco Offshore Bulgaria submitted the first western oil spill response plan for the Bulgarian Black Sea. This paper presents a case study based on Dames & Moore's preparation of this plan. The plan was prepared in cooperation with the Bulgarian government, and included public discussions. It joined the country's existing response resources with Texaco's existing international response strategy. The result was a plan combining local knowledge and support and western capability and experience. This paper outlines the issues addressed in the plan. One critical point discussed below is that of protecting tourist beaches, which are an essential part of the Bulgarian economy. The paper concludes with a discussion of how cooperation between western industry and Eastern European government can result in successful oil spill response planning and help identify key factors for both attaining and maintaining preparedness in the face of the new challenges.

scholarly journals New Central and East-European Cinema

1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Stojanova
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Berlin Wall ◽  
East European ◽  
European Cinema ◽  
Short Films ◽  
History Of

UNE NOUVELLE EUROPE: THE DOUBLE QUEST OF NEW CENTRAL AND EAST-EUROPEAN CINEMA The Berlin Wall collapsed some eight years ago, along with the repressive totalitarian Communist regimes it came to symbolise, thus neatly wrapping up half a century in the history of Eastern Europe. Little has reached our shores, however, about the effects on everyday life of this unprecedented change, brought about by mostly "velvet" revolutions across the region. In March of this year Cinémathèque Québécoise launched Une Nouvelle Europe: A Panorama of Central and Eastern European Cinema, featuring 28 feature and 5 short films from 8 countries.(1) The selection was also presented in Toronto (Cinematheque Ontario, April 4-May 1, 1997) and in Vancouver (Pacific Cinematheque, March 22-May 1), under the title A New Europe: Reeling After The Fall. The organisation of the event was an arduous and time consuming task. It took more than a year and a...

scholarly journals East European Jews – prejudice or pride?

2015 ◽  
pp. 165-179
Author(s):  
Waldemar Szczerbiński
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
East European ◽  
Central Eastern Europe ◽  
The World ◽  
The One ◽  
Spiritual Legacy

Jews from Central-Eastern Europe play a significant role in the formation of individual and social self-awareness in the Jewish world. It seems that in the Jewish world there exists a polarised approach to the Jews from this part of the world. On the one hand, there is pride, on the other, prejudice verging on shame. Some Jews have identified themselves with the group, others did the opposite, denied having anything to do with them. The most important question of our analyses is: what is the role of Eastern European Jews in building Jewish collective identity? Byron Sherwin, an American Jew, is an example of a great fascination with the Yiddish civilisation. Not only does he recognize and appreciate the spiritual legacy of Jews in Poland for other Jews around the world, but also accords this legacy a pre-eminent status in the collective Jewish identity. At the same time, he is conscious of the fact that not all Jews, if only in the United States, share his view. It is an upshot of the deep prejudice towards the life in the European Diaspora, which has been in evidence for some time. The same applies to the Jews in Israel. The new generations see the spiritual and cultural achievements of the Eastern European Jews as a legacy that should be learned and developed. This engenders hope that the legacy of the Jews of Eastern Europe will be preserved and will become a foundation of identity for future generations. 

The Political Science of Democratic Transition in Eastern Europe

1993 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 408-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean McSweeney ◽  
Clive Tempest
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Democratic Transition ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Endogenous Factors ◽  
East European ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
Exogenous Factors ◽  
The Masses

Political science is presented with an unprecedented case of democratic transition in Eastern Europe with a set of societies that are said to have been atomized by party state organs and without the other formal preconditions for transition to liberal democracy. The article surveys current writings and theories on transition to see whether they fit the East European cases. The stress in the literature on the primacy of endogenous factors, the role of entrepreneurial capitalism and the leading role of elites in facilitating a transition to democracy is of little value in the Eastern European context where exogenous factors, the absence of capitalism and the role of the masses were crucial in the downfall of communism. The prospects for the survival of democracy are discussed in the light of the way the new regimes were inaugurated.

Realities and Challenges of the Social Enterprises in South-Eastern European Countries

2019 ◽  
pp. 214-236
Author(s):  
Ani Matei ◽  
Corina-Georgiana Antonovici ◽  
Carmen Săvulescu
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Social Economy ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
The Social ◽  
South Eastern Europe ◽  
Eastern European Countries

The chapter objectives focus on mapping the sector of social economy in some states from South-Eastern Europe, presenting their role and impact due to the activities achieved in society. The theoretical part of the chapter comprises the evolution of social economy in Europe, in general, and in South-Eastern Europe, in particular, the identification of the types of organizations in this area. The case study identifies and presents the stages of development of the social enterprises in countries such as Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, Republic of Moldova, and explores, by comparative analysis the institutional frameworks, the regulations of social enterprises, the eligible judicial forms, presenting similarities and differences, as well as the contribution to social inclusion and impact on community in general. The chapter identifies and explains the influence of the European actors and presents the factors specific to each country which have influenced and supported the emergence of social enterprises as well as the challenges faced.

scholarly journals Back to the Post-Communist Motherlands

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-64
Author(s):  
Israel Bartal
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Jewish History ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
East European ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
European Jewish

This article presents some of the personal observations of a veteran Israeli scholar whose long-years' encounters with the 'real' as well as the 'imagined' eastern Europe have shaped his historical research. As an Israeli-born historian of Polish-Ukrainian origin, (the so-called 'second generation') he claims to share an ambivalent attitude towards his countries of origin with other fellow- historians. Jewish emigrants from eastern Europe have been until very late in the modern era members of an old ethno-religious group. One ethnos out of many in a diverse multi-ethnic environment, whose demographic core survived and flourished for centuries in the old places. Several decades of social, economic, and political upheavals exposed the Jewish population to drastic changes. These changes lead several intellectuals who left their home countries to look back at what have happened as both involved actors, and distant observers. Israeli historians of east European origin found themselves confronted with a crucial question: in what way the past in the Old Country connected (if at all) to the history of Israel. Following some 40 years of academic career in the field of eastern European Jewish history, it is claimed that until the collapse of the Soviet Union, the image of eastern Europe that runs through the Israeli historical research has been shaped in large part by members of the different generations of emigrants, outside of eastern Europe. The renewed direct contact after 1989 caused a dramatic change: within a few years, Israeli historians were examining archives and libraries throughout eastern Europe. After seven decades of isolation between the Israeli historian and the primary sources necessary to his/her research in the archives, the new wave of documents was celebrated in Israeli Universities. Yet far more influential was the revolution prompted in 1989 on the historical perspective from which Israeli historians could now examine the Jewish past. What happened in 1989 has seemed, to some Israeli historians, a breaking point marking the end of the eastern European period in the course of Jewish history. The article concludes with some thoughts on a new historical (Israeli) perspective. A one that fits a time when hundreds of thousands of immigrants from what was the largest eastern-European Jewish collective in the world inhabit a remote Middle Eastern nation-state.  

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