From the Soviet Bloc to the European Union : The Economic and Social Transformation of Central and Eastern Europe since 1973

The conditions surrounding the Soviet Union's dramatic collapse have long fascinated historians, but few studies have covered the subject in its entirety. This is an authoritative account of the region's turbulent history, and considers the European Union's crucial role in shaping its economic and social development since 1973.

The Soviet Union's dramatic collapse in 1989 was a pivotal moment in the complex history of Central and Eastern Europe, and Ivan Berend here offers a magisterial new account of the dramatic transformation that culminated in ten former Soviet Bloc countries joining the European Union. Taking the OPEC oil crisis of 1973 as his starting point, he charts the gradual unravelling of state socialism in Central and Eastern Europe, its ultimate collapse in the revolutions of 1989, and the economic restructuring and lasting changes in income, employment, welfare, education and social structure which followed. He pays particular attention to the crucial role of the European Union as well as the social and economic hurdles that continue to face former Eastern-bloc nations as they try to catch up with their Western neighbours. This will be essential reading for scholars and students of European and economic history, European politics and economics.