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This book discusses the diverse practices and discourses of memory
politics in Russia and Eastern Europe. It argues that currently
prevailing conservativism has a long tradition, which continued
even in Communist times, and is different to conservatism in the
West, which can accommodate other viewpoints within liberal
democratic systems. It considers how important history is for
conservatism, and how history is reconstituted according to
changing circumstances. It goes on to examine in detail values
which are key to conservatism, such as patriotism, Christianity and
religious life, and the traditional model of the family, the
importance of the sovereign national state within globalization,
and the emphasis on a strong paternal state, featuring hierarchy,
authority and political continuity. The book concludes by analysing
how far states in the region are experiencing a common trend and
whether different countries' conservative narratives are
reinforcing each other or are colliding.
Following the end of the Cold War and European Union enlargement,
in what sense does Eastern Europe continue to exist as a meaningful
geo-political concept? In addressing this question, contributors to
this volume-Alex Cistelecan, Robert Bideleux, Katalin Miklossy and
Dieter Segert-tease out the implications for an 'Area Studies'
approach to the region. They examine its contradictory situation
within discourses of 'orientalisation': on one hand, posited as the
'underdeveloped' pendant to its western neighbours; on the other,
largely Christian by religion and an integral part of a continent
that dominated the world. They uncover the roots of area studies in
the 'colonial paradigm' by which great powers promote the creation
of predictive, 'problem-solving' knowledge that is immediately
apprehendable for decision makers, helping them to take advantage
of a region's resources and strategic position, but which tends to
homogenise the region's geography and history. For critical
inquiry, they argue, the challenge is to delineate transparently
the reasons underlying Eastern Europe's construction as an area of
study, to identify the epistemological interests of motivated
organisations such as funding agencies and political bodies, and to
counter the ongoing orientalism of Western perspectives toward the
East. This book was originally published as a special issue of the
Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe.
This book explores how the concept of "competition", which is
usually associated with market economies, operated under state
socialism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, where the
socialist system, based on command economic planning and
state-centred control over society, was supposed to emphasise
"co-operation", rather than competitive mechanisms. The book
considers competition in a wider range of industries and social
fields across the Soviet bloc, and shows how the gradual adoption
and adaptation of Western practices led to the emergence of more
open competitiveness in socialist society. The book includes
discussion of the state's view of competition, and focuses
especially on how competition operated at the grassroots level. It
covers politico-economic reforms and their impact, both overall and
at the enterprise level; competition in the cultural sphere; and
the huge effect of increasing competition on socialist ways of
thinking.
This book explores how the concept of "competition", which is
usually associated with market economies, operated under state
socialism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, where the
socialist system, based on command economic planning and
state-centred control over society, was supposed to emphasise
"co-operation", rather than competitive mechanisms. The book
considers competition in a wider range of industries and social
fields across the Soviet bloc, and shows how the gradual adoption
and adaptation of Western practices led to the emergence of more
open competitiveness in socialist society. The book includes
discussion of the state's view of competition, and focuses
especially on how competition operated at the grassroots level. It
covers politico-economic reforms and their impact, both overall and
at the enterprise level; competition in the cultural sphere; and
the huge effect of increasing competition on socialist ways of
thinking.
Following the end of the Cold War and European Union enlargement,
in what sense does Eastern Europe continue to exist as a meaningful
geo-political concept? In addressing this question, contributors to
this volume-Alex Cistelecan, Robert Bideleux, Katalin Miklossy and
Dieter Segert-tease out the implications for an 'Area Studies'
approach to the region. They examine its contradictory situation
within discourses of 'orientalisation': on one hand, posited as the
'underdeveloped' pendant to its western neighbours; on the other,
largely Christian by religion and an integral part of a continent
that dominated the world. They uncover the roots of area studies in
the 'colonial paradigm' by which great powers promote the creation
of predictive, 'problem-solving' knowledge that is immediately
apprehendable for decision makers, helping them to take advantage
of a region's resources and strategic position, but which tends to
homogenise the region's geography and history. For critical
inquiry, they argue, the challenge is to delineate transparently
the reasons underlying Eastern Europe's construction as an area of
study, to identify the epistemological interests of motivated
organisations such as funding agencies and political bodies, and to
counter the ongoing orientalism of Western perspectives toward the
East. This book was originally published as a special issue of the
Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe.
This book explains the complex relations and entanglements of
Russia and its neighboring countries, an area that changed
dramatically after the collapse of communism and the end of the
Cold War. The chapters discuss how the strategic cultures of
different countries display common characteristics rooted in this
special geopolitical space that has been subjected to simultaneous
changes over a longer time. Shared historical experiences provide a
common ground to interpret outside threats. The spatial context is
relevant in this volume because the focus is on a geopolitical
in-between-ness. The position in between two ideologically,
politically or economically divergent entities affects the states'
security considerations, maneuvering space and policy perspectives.
By cross-examining competing Russian and Western influences
Miklossy and Smith create a persuasive context of regional
political choices.
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