The year 1989 marked a turning point in world history, a watershed
year of unprecedented drama and political significance. No matter
how one looks at those events-as the fall of communism, the
democratization of Eastern Europe, or the end of the cold war-it is
important to understand how the world travelled the distance of
time, space, and ideology to arrive at the Berlin Wall and tear it
down. David Mason provides that understanding in a concise
synthesis of history, politics, economics, sociology, literature,
philosophy, and popular, as well as traditional, culture. He shows
how all these elements combined to yield the year that effectively
closed the twentieth century-and promised to launch the new century
on a hopeful note. Starting with Poland's elections in June 1989,
the countries of then-communist Eastern Europe one by one
revolutionized their governments and their polities; Hungary opened
its borders to the West, East Germany rushed through,
Czechoslovakia elected Vaclav Havel president, Bulgaria changed
both party and leadership, and Romania executed Ceausescu. Although
Gorbachev enabled many of these changes, he did not cause them. The
illumination of the complex symbiosis between dynamics in Eastern
Europe and the Soviet Union is one of the greatest contributions
this book makes. With undercurrents emphasizing the power of ideas,
the spirit of youth, and the multifaceted force of culture and
ethnicity, Mason takes the reader far beyond the events of change
and into their impetus and outcomes. He applies theories of social
movements, democratization, and economic transition with an even
hand, showing the interaction of their effects not only regionally
but worldwide. The concluding chapter puts the revolutions in
Eastern Europe into international perspective and highlights their
impact on East-West relations, security alliances, and economic
integration. Mason discusses the European Community, the United
States and the Soviet Union, and the Third World in relation to the
new East-Central European configuration. Using delightful and
provocative cartoons from Eastern European and Soviet presses,
interesting photos, valuable tables of data, and illuminating
figures, Mason emphasizes important points about the role of
nationalism, ethnicity, public opinion, and harsh economic reality
in the revolutionary process.
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