Moving from the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to the present day, this book traces the trajectory of the six East Central European former satellites of the Soviet Union (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria) that have joined the European Union. It seeks in particular to explain these countries' disenchantment with the "return to Europe" in spite of their significant advances. The book proceeds country by country and then devotes chapters to some contemporary issues, such as minorities, migration, and the relations of these "new" members with the European Union as a whole. The book eschews theory and is intended for a general audience, including students at all levels in political science and history classes devoted to the EU and to contemporary Europe, and to an academic and practitioner audience interested in world affairs and the evolution of the European Union. The book strives to fill a persistent knowledge gap in the English-speaking world concerning East Central Europe, and to offer fresh insights about the region in the context of contemporary geopolitics.

Hailed as "the greatest journalist of his time" Henry Wickham Steed (1871-1956) was editor-in-chief of The Times after World War I, having been its foreign editor since 1914, and, previously, its correspondent in Berlin, Vienna and Rome. "Spiritual godfather" of the post-Habsburg new states he was long acknowledged as the world's greatest authority on Central Europe. In the 1930s, he stood at the forefront of the anti-appeasement camp and, in World War II, was the BBC's Overseas Services chief broadcaster. Contemporaries remarked upon Steed's impressive appearance, prodigious command of foreign languages, and extraordinary network of connections in high places. He was also a paradoxical personality of a liberal outlook and conservative disposition, torn too by complex personal relationships. Lionized abroad but denounced at home, Steed remained an outsider even as he reached the pinnacle of success in his chosen profession and exerted a significant influence on his times. "Steed is a fascinating character, who moved easily and influentially between the worlds of journalism, diplomacy and academia [...]. It has been a long wait for a biography, but this one is so thorough and definitive that I am sure it will be a long wait before a rival emerges." Prof. Tom Buchanan, University of Oxford "This work constitutes the first biography of Wickham Steed who, [...] was a seminal figure within the media and political worlds of both Britain and Europe during the earlier half of the twentieth century. [...] Beyond offering us a personal history of a fascinating and highly influential figure, the author provides us with fresh insights into both British domestic politics and high society and the international diplomacy of a particularly turbulent era." Prof. Conan Fischer, University of St. Andrews

Analyses several cultures and historical periods, combining them in an innovative way. Offers a fresh perspective to the study of nationalism.

In this fully updated edition with a new foreword by Andre Liebich, David M. Crowe provides an overview of the life, history, and culture of the Gypsies, or Roma, from their entrance into the region in the Middle Ages up until the present, drawing from previously untapped East European, Russian, and traditional sources.

Moving from the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to the present day, this book traces the trajectory of the six East Central European former satellites of the Soviet Union (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria) that have joined the European Union. It seeks in particular to explain these countries' disenchantment with the "return to Europe" in spite of their significant advances. The book proceeds country by country and then devotes chapters to some contemporary issues, such as minorities, migration, and the relations of these "new" members with the European Union as a whole. The book eschews theory and is intended for a general audience, including students at all levels in political science and history classes devoted to the EU and to contemporary Europe, and to an academic and practitioner audience interested in world affairs and the evolution of the European Union. The book strives to fill a persistent knowledge gap in the English-speaking world concerning East Central Europe, and to offer fresh insights about the region in the context of contemporary geopolitics.

August Cieszkowski (1814 1894) was a philosopher, economist, social reformer and political activist. As early as 1838 he formulated a daring critique of Hegel, which culminated in the notion of praxis and marked the beginning of the radicalization of the Hegelian school. Throughout the 1840s he participated in the social movement in France with a variety of highly original economic and social schemes. After 1848 he played a key role in Polish politics and elaborated a future-oriented and messianic vision of history that sought to integrate Hegel and Christianity. The publication of this volume in 1979 formed part of a revival of interest in Cieszkowski, which centred about his influence on Marx as well as his impact on Herzen, Hess and Proudhon. It also focused on Cieszkowski's position within the broad current of nineteenth-century Polish and European messianism as well as on the originality of his peculiarly non-revolutionary system.