This book analyzes major contemporary political and security problems in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Presenting case studies on various CEE countries, it highlights the persistence of non-democratic political trends in the region, with particular emphasis on authoritarianism in Belarus and the illiberal shift in the politics of Hungary and Poland. Also, the book examines the growing geopolitical and military rivalry between the West and Russia in the CEE region, which led to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. After addressing the increasing involvement of external entities such as NATO, the EU, the USA, Germany, France, and China, it highlights serious internal and external challenges to the democratic institutions and international security of CEE that call for new formats of multilateral cooperation to be established by the region's countries. This book is intended for scholars and students of European politics, international relations and security studies, and for anyone interested in the political and security challenges facing the CEE region.

Autorentext

Prof. Ryszard Zieba is a full professor emeritus of international relations and security studies at the University of Warsaw, Poland. He has been a member of the Commission of National Security Strategic Review established by the President of the Republic of Poland, an expert of the Polish Parliament, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Regional Development, the National Security Bureau, and was awarded a Jean Monnet Chair by the European Commission. He is author of over 400 other research studies on: international security, Poland's and EU's foreign and security policy, the theory of international relations and security studies. The last two books he published in Springer are: The Euro-Atlantic Security System in the 21st Century: From Cooperation to Crisis (2018) and Poland's Foreign and Security Policy: Problems of Compatibility with the Changing International Order (2020).