Central and Eastern Europe

1
Central and Eastern Europe

• Historical Overview Current Developments

2
Introduction

• 1991
• academic year 2003-2004
• December 2003 Russian Duma elections
• March 2004 Russian Presidential Elections
• May 2004 EU accession Central European states

3

• rich and varied culture and history? divergent
  trends
• Structure of the course
• history of the region ? how central and eastern
  Europe took their geographical, institutional and
  political shape.
• recent developments in this area

4
1. History

• Countries shifted back and forth between East and
  West througout history - part of different
  empires
• Currently line often drawn between EU and non-EU
  countries. Europe divided in three belts
• - Western Europe (the current EU member states)
• - Central Europe (mainly comprising the candidate
  
• member states
• - Eastern Europe ( European part of CIS)
• Soon second belt will dissolve into the first
  one European map redrawn
• fear of newly emerging dividing lines /
  polarisation.

5
Historical highlights

• 8th-11th C christianity Moscow
  and Novgorod cities develop
• 1240 Mongol invasion by Golden Horde
  (until 1480) Russia cut off from the
  West
• 15-16th C Renaissance in Central Europe.
• Russia misses out.
• Turkish invasionsHungary
  and Croatia turn to the
• Habsburg empire for
  protection ? nascent
• affiliations

6

• 1569 Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from Baltic
  to Black sea
• 17th C Hungarian lands subjected to Habsburg
  domination.
• Russian empire developing fast (eastward)
• 18thC Russian empire expanding westward,
  Habsburgs eastward
• e.g. Partition of Poland 1773, 1793
  and 1795

7

• 18th C innovative reforms of Peter the Great
  Catherine the Great
• 19th C numerous wars and revolutions
• WWI Russian Revolution 1917 independence in
  many central European countries
• 1930s Stalin collectivisation and
  dekulakisation, purges
• WWII Molotov-Von Ribbentrop pact
• huge human loss in Central Eastern
  Europe

8

• 1945-1989 central European regimes succumb to
  Soviet influence
• Baltic States ? Soviet Union
• 1950s-60s thaw (Khrushchëv)
• repression 1956, 1961, 1968
• 1980s Gorbachëv - perestroika glasnost gives
  a.o. Baltic states the opportunity to break
  free.
• 1989 domino autumn

9

• 1990 lt state sovereignty declarations e.g.
  Lithuania 11 March 1990
• putsch 18 Aug 1991 independence confirmed
• Estonia 20 Aug 1991 Latvia 21 Aug 1991 Ukraine
  24 Aug 1991 Belarus 25 aug 1991 Moldova 27 Aug
  1991 Kyrgyzstan 31 Aug 1991Uzbekistan 1 Sept
  1991 Tajikistan 9 Sept 1991 Armenia 21 Sept
  1991 Turkmenistan 27 Oct 1991 Kazakhstan 16 Dec
  1991
• 25/12/1991 USSR ceases to exist

10
The Challenge of reforms (1991 - now)

• enormous challenge
• some states performed better in transition
• thematic issues in Central and Eastern Europe
  since independence

11
1. Democratisation, Civil Society and Minority
Rights

• candidate EU member states made serious work of
  these topics
• example Hungary innovative legislation on
  minority rights, (Hungarians minorities , Roma
  minorities)
• example Belarus black hole of Europe.
• Almost no
  reforms
• Civil society
  free press virtually
• outlawed
• NGOs constantly
  persecuted

12
2. Divergent foreign policies Central Europe

• Central Europe clear European choice
• three reasons
• - Economic market economies
• Political common position on foreign policy and
  political
  priorities
• cultural-historical return to Europe
  
• Consequence Russia?

13
The Outsider States

• Ukraine, Belarus
• problems, lack of reforms
• Ukraine corruption, scandals in 2000
• multi-vector policy ?
  ambiguous signs to EU and CIS
• Belarus even worse in corruption, reforms ,
  democratization
• state-led economy, energy
  dependence
• Union State with Russia (1999)
• National identity ?

14
The CIS

• Eastern European answer to the European Union?
• empty box
• bi-annual meeting of CIS leaders talking shop
  for Putin maintaining bilateral relations with
  the other members.
• CIS as economic backyard of Russia
• subregional initiatives Eurasian Economic
  Community Common Economic Zone GUUAM Shanghai
  five

15
Conclusion

• history of this region still affects the
  countries in policy choices and reforms
• this year challenging for those who want to
  study Central and Eastern Europe.