Contrary to dominant narratives which portray East European politics as a pendulum swing between democracy and authoritarianism, conventionally defined in terms of an ahistorical cultural geography of East vs. West, this book analyzes post-socialist transformation as part of the long downturn of...

This book explores the causes and effects of the rise of neoliberalism in Eastern Europe in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union. It provides a political economy analysis of the role of central banks, and identifies them as a key actor in the production and dissemination of the...

Intro -- Contents -- Foreword -- Abstract -- Acknowledgements -- Currency Equivalents -- Abbreviations and Acronyms -- Executive Summary and Introduction -- Chapter I: The Rural Economy and its Economic Agents -- Chapter II: Rural Financial Intermediaries, Market Shares, Credit Products, and...

The former transition countries of Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe (CESE) inherited defined benefit public pension systems financed on a pay-as-you-go basis. Under central planning, these systems exhibited fiscal strains which worsened during the early years of the transition and became...

For many in the West, Romania is synonymous with Count Dracula. Since the publication of Bram Stoker's famous novel in 1897 Transylvania (and by extension, Romania) has become inseparable in the Western imagination with Dracula, vampires and the supernatural. Moreover, since the late 1960s...

This volume examines Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Analysing major political and economic events in these countries from the mid-1990s to the present, a detailed and accessible guide is provided