Though the fall of the Soviet Union opened the way for states in
central and eastern Europe to join the world of market-oriented
Western democracies, the expected transitions have not been as
easy, common, or smooth as sometimes perceived. Rachel A. Epstein
investigates how liberal ideas and practices are embedded in
transitioning societies and finds that success or failure depends
largely on creating a social context in which incentives held out
by international institutions are viewed as symbols of an emerging
Western identity in the affected country.
Epstein first explains how a liberal worldview and institutions
like the European Union, World Bank, the International Monetary
Fund, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization go hand-in-hand
and why Western nations assume that a broad and incremental program
of incentives to join will encourage formerly authoritarian states
to reform their political and economic systems. Using Hungary,
Poland, Romania, and the Ukraine as case studies, she demonstrates
the limits of conditionality in the face of national social
perceptions and elucidates the three key points around which a
consensus within the state must emerge before international
institutions can expect liberalization: domestic officials must be
uncertain about how changing policies will affect their interests;
the status of international and domestic institutions must not be
in jeopardy; and the proposed polices must seem credible. In making
her case, Epstein cleverly bridges the gap between the rationalist
and constructivist schools of thought.
Offering new data on and fresh interpretations of reforming
central bank policies, privatizing banks with foreign capital,
democratizing civil-military relations, and denationalizing defense
policy, In Pursuit of Liberalism extends well beyond the scope of
previous book-length studies.
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