Crises and Conflicts in Post-Socialist Societies

The book series Changing Europe contains edited volumes dealing with current political, economic and social affairs in Eastern Europe and the enlarged EU. The core of the series is formed by contributions to the Changing Europe Summer Schools, which are being organised by the Research Centre for East European Studies at the University of Bremen.

Post-socialist transformations in Central and Eastern Europe have been characterised by historically shaped crises and conflicts on all levels of political, economic and societal life. Minority and ethno-political conflicts, many of them currently at a stalemate, have severely hampered state-building and societal stability and continue to do so. Contradictory interpretations of history prevent societies from forging a common identity and thus impede nation-building processes. Political and social identities exert an important influence on democratic and socioeconomic transformation processes.
Taken together, the contributions in this volume reflect the wide variety of challenges and conflicts linked to ethnic, national, political, social and gender identities in post-socialist societies in Central and Eastern Europe. They not only serve to illustrate the significant differences among post-socialist transformations, but also highlight the variety of theoretical concepts and methodological approaches that can be used to analyse identity, its change and its impact on societal developments.
This book presents some of the best papers presented at the Changing Europe Summer School on Crises and Conflicts in Eastern European States and Societies: Stumbling Blocks or Stepping Stones for Democratisation? held in Warsaw in September 2007.

Autorentext
Prof. Dr. Heiko Pleines studierte in London und Bochum, promovierte an der FU Berlin und habilitierte an der Universität Bremen. Seit 2000 ist er wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter der Forschungsstelle Osteuropa an der Universität Bremen, wo er den Arbeitsbereich Politik und Wirtschaft leitet. Im WS 2007/08 ist er Vertretungsprofessor für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft an der Universität Bremen. Von 2005 bis 2007 war er als Feodor Lynen-Stipendiat der Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung mehrfach Gastwissenschaftler an der Higher School of Economics in Moskau. Er ist unter anderem Autor von Reformblockaden in der Wirtschaftspolitik. Die Rolle von Wirtschaftsakteuren in Polen, Russland und der Ukraine (VS Verlag 2008) und Ukrainische Seilschaften. Informelle Einflussnahme in der ukrainischen Wirtschaftspolitik 1992-2004 (LIT 2005) sowie Mitherausgeber der Reihe Changing Europe im ibidem-Verlag. Dr. rer. pol. Sabine Fischer ist Mitarbeiterin am Mannheimer Zentrum für Europäische Sozialforschung.

Klappentext

Post-socialist transformations in Central and Eastern Europe have been characterised by historically shaped crises and conflicts on all levels of political, economic and societal life. Minority and ethno-political conflicts, many of them currently at a stalemate, have severely hampered state-building and societal stability - and continue to do so. Contradictory interpretations of history prevent societies from forging a common identity and thus impede nation-building processes. Political and social identities exert an important influence on democratic and socioeconomic transformation processes. Taken together, the contributions in this volume reflect the wide variety of challenges and conflicts linked to ethnic, national, political, social and gender identities in post-socialist societies in Central and Eastern Europe. They not only serve to illustrate the significant differences among post-socialist transformations, but also highlight the variety of theoretical concepts and methodological approaches that can be used to analyse identity, its change and impact on societal developments.This book presents some of the best papers presented at the Changing Europe Summer School on "Crises and Conflicts in Eastern European States and Societies: Stumbling Blocks or Stepping Stones for Democratisation?" held in Warsaw in September 2007.