What's So Eastern About Eastern Europe

(Paperback)

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Description

Five years have passed since 10 countries from Central & Eastern Europe joined the European Union and 20 years since the Berlin Wall was torn down in 1989 - but ignorance about what is popularly still called Eastern Europe is as widespread as ever. Leon Marc gives the reader the big picture of Eastern Europe - its political, economic, social and cultural history, the nature of changes there and the issues at stake in the political and economic transition - while putting the fall of the Berlin Wall and the EU enlargement into a broader perspective of general European history.

Reviews

Comprehensively and concisely, Leon Marc's book presents readers with vital insights into the different dimensions of our common European history and culture -- Prof Dr Jaap W. de Zwaan, Director of the Nederlands Institute of International Relations
It is the great merit of Leon Marc's book however that he delves behind the brief and inglorious communist half-century to uncover the deep traditions of a region -- Enda O'Doherty * Dublin Review of Books *
This spirited, erudite polemic against the ignorant stereotyping and arbitrary lumping together of the former communist-ruled countries in Europe under the label of 'Eastern Europe' is most timely -- Christopher Cviic * Royal Institute of International Affairs Journal *
A critical reading of European history and an eye-witness report of pre-1989 citizen protests in the Eastern bloc highlight overlooked narratives and the undervalued potential of the region -- Guy Kiddey * The Vienna Review *

Author Bio

LEON MARC is a diplomat and writer, with a deep interest in history. At the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall he was involved in the democratic movement in his native country and then studied Public Policy and Management in the UK. He later served as Slovenian diplomat in Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal and the Czech Republic, as well as in other positions in the headquarters. He is married to Barbara Blaznik and they have one daughter.