In the years after the breakthrough events of 1989, the concept of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) came to be widely used as a synonym for the group of ten countries from the former Eastern Bloc aspiring to EU membership. This book attempts to demonstrate and assess the changes resulting from the EU enlargements of 2004 and 2007 and European integration processes, identifying both the similarities and the differences of the countries of the region.
This volume is addressed to those interested in Central and Eastern Europe. It has two main aims: first, to present recent alterations in the region resulting from the processes of European integration; second, to account for the process of Europeanisation in the countries after EU accession that goes beyond just conditionality mechanisms. The collection also contributes to the discussion on how the changes in CEE influence the theorisation on Europeanisation - a concept initially constructed in order to tackle the changes taking place in response to the processes of European integration in the old member states.
The book is divided into four parts, each concentrating on an area where the changes seem to be most profound and most interesting from the point of view of theorising on the impact of the European integration processes: democratic consolidation in the region, collective identity construction, functioning of civil society and studies on foreign policy and international relations.
The volume includes contributions by the RECON-affiliated scholars Christopher Lord, Zdzislaw Mach, and Hans-Jörg Trenz, in addition to the editors.
The collection was prepared as part of the wider project 'Europeanisation and Governance in Central and Eastern Europe' led by the Centre for European Studies of the Jagiellonian University in cooperation with ARENA - Centre for European Studies at the University of Oslo.
Full info:
Democracy, State and Society: European Integration in Central and Eastern Europe
Magdalena Góra and Katarzyna Zielińska (eds), Jagellonian University Press, 2011