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This timely collection offers fresh perspectives on the analysis of the ‘New Great Game'– the fight for access to the former Soviet Union's energy resources. Thus far the export of crude oil and natural gas has only been assessed through a geopolitical lens, which oversimplifies the political dynamics of the region and neglects to acknowledge the post-Soviet countries as actors in their own right. Broadening the scope of analysis, this volume brings together insights from various different angles, including the securitization of energy issues, the formation of post-Soviet energy policies, and the motives of local business and political actors.

'Der erste Anstoß zur Forschungsstelle kam von dem tschechischen Journalisten Jiri Pelikan, Sozialist in Italien. Er hatte schon 1977 Willy Brandt auf den intellektuellen Untergrund in Osteuropa hingewiesen und ihm geraten, die Zeugnisse dieser Szene - Schriften des Samisdat - in einer wissenschaftlichen Einrichtung sammeln zu lassen. Brandt hatte seine eigenen Emigrationserfahrungen, nahm den Hinweis von Pelikan auf und sprach Hans Koschnick an, der sich seinerseits mit mir in Verbindung setzte. Im Übrigen war der Gedanke reizvoll, in dieser linken, als rote Kaderschmiede verschrienen Universität ein Institut zu bauen, das sich mit Oppositionsbewegungen in den kom-munistischen Staaten beschäftigt.'(Wolfgang Eichwede in der taz 29.12.2003)Wolfgang Eichwede hat in Bremen mit der Forschungsstelle Osteuropa eine Institution aufgebaut, die im westlichen Europa kein Gegenstück hat. Ein Archiv, das den Widerstand in der Sowjetunion, Polen, Ungarn, der DDR, der Tschechoslowakei – kurz in den Ländern des ehemaligen'sozialistischen Lagers'– dokumentiert. Nach 1989 hat die Forschungsstelle die'samtenen Revolutionen'und die Transformation in Osteuropa ver-folgt. Heute analysiert sie laufend die politischen und gesellschaftlichen Prozesse im postsozialistischen Raum. Anläßlich seines 65. Geburtstags, der zusammenfällt mit dem 25. Jubiläum der Forschungsstelle, versammelt der vorliegende Band Beiträge seiner Kollegen, Weggefährten und Schüler. Sie greifen die großen Themen auf, die auch Wolfgang Eichwede immer wieder beschäftigt haben: Dissens. Opposition gestern und heute# Nationale Identitäten zwischen Vergangenheit und Gegenwart# Gesellschaften nach dem Sozialismus# Das post-sowjetische Russland im europäischen Kontext

The end of socialism posed a historical challenge to European societies. The former socialist Central and East European countries were faced with what has been called a'triple transformation': Mutually dependent changes in the political, economic, and social spheres. At the same time, the old EU member states had to develop strategies to react to these developments and integrate former socialist societies.This post-socialist transformation of Europe coincided with a number of broader trends in the political, economic, and social spheres which are often collectively referred to as globalisation. Success or failure to adapt to these changes creates winners and losers. The focus of this edited volume is on various groups of'losers'and the challenges they face as a result of their marginalisation.This book presents the results of the Changing Europe Summer School on'Justice as a societal and political matter. Equality, social and legal security as conditions for democracy and the market'that took place in Berlin in July 2006. The Summer School brought together more than 30 young scholars from all over the world who work on issues related to Central and Eastern European societies and the enlarged EU.

Dieser Sammelband verbindet wirtschafts- und politikwissenschaftliche Perspektiven auf die Entwicklung von Corporate Governance in post-sozialistischen Volkswirtschaften. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf Russland, wobei zu vergleichenden Zwecken weitere Länder in die Analyse einbezogen werden: Polen, Ungarn, die Ukraine und zentralasiatische Staaten.Der Band beginnt mit einer Einführung in die Grundkonzepte von Corporate Governance. Im zweiten Teil wird für sechs post-sozialistische Volkswirtschaften eine wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Analyse der Entwicklung von Corporate Governance vorgenommen. Die Qualität von Corporate Governance wird hier vor allem mit der Eigentümerstruktur und den Einfluss- und Kontrollmöglichkeiten der Eigner gegenüber dem Management in Verbindung gebracht. Der dritte Teil beleuchtet diese Probleme aus einer politikwissenschaftlichen Perspektive. Da jene bislang weniger etabliert ist, wird hier einer ausführlicheren Analyse des russischen Fallbeispiels Platz eingeräumt. Es geht vor allem um Motive hinter der Einführung bestimmter Corporate Governance-Regulierungen durch den Staat. Im abschließenden vierten Teil werden die wirtschaftswissenschaftliche und die politikwissenschaftliche Perspektive zusammengeführt. Die Beiträge präsentieren ein Modell der Bestimmungsfaktoren des unternehmerischen Corporate Governance-Verhaltens, das sowohl wirtschaftliche als auch politische Aspekte einbezieht. Die Autoren sind Wissenschaftler, die in Deutschland, Russland und Polen an renommierten Forschungsinstituten und Universitäten arbeiten. Sie sind ausgewiesene Experten zum Thema, die in ihren Beiträgen auf Ergebnisse langjähriger Forschungsprojekte zurückgreifen.

Post-socialist transformations in Central and Eastern Europe have been characterised by historically shaped crises and conflicts on all levels of political, economic and societal life. Minority and ethno-political conflicts, many of them currently at a stalemate, have severely hampered state-building and societal stability – and continue to do so. Contradictory interpretations of history prevent societies from forging a common identity and thus impede nation-building processes. Political and social identities exert an important influence on democratic and socioeconomic transformation processes. Taken together, the contributions in this volume reflect the wide variety of challenges and conflicts linked to ethnic, national, political, social and gender identities in post-socialist societies in Central and Eastern Europe. They not only serve to illustrate the significant differences among post-socialist transformations, but also highlight the variety of theoretical concepts and methodological approaches that can be used to analyse identity, its change and impact on societal developments.This book presents some of the best papers presented at the Changing Europe Summer School on “Crises and Conflicts in Eastern European States and Societies: Stumbling Blocks or Stepping Stones for Democratisation?“ held in Warsaw in September 2007.

The integration of ten Central and East European countries (CEEC) into the EU as part of the 2004 and 2007 enlargements poses new challenges to EU governance, as the number of countries involved has thereby increased dramatically. However, the actors coming from the new member states also face challenges as they attempt to integrate themselves into EU decision-making processes. This book analyses the attempts of of civil society organisations from the Czech Republic and Poland to engage in EU governance in four policy fields. The guiding question is whether civil society organisations from the Central and East European member states have (or can gain) the capacity for meaningful participation in EU governance.After an introductory part, which outlines the analytical framework and offers a review of the literature, the actors and rules of EU governance are profiled. The third and fourth parts of the book then present case studies. The case studies address the civil society organisations most actively involved in EU governance, namely typical NGOs, trade unions, employers'organisations and business associations.

The central question addressed by the papers collected in this book is whether trade unions from the post-socialist states have successfully represented their interests at the EU level. At issue is not only their purely formal integration into umbrella organizations and EU bodies; of much greater concern is their actual participation in political decision-making processes and the resulting impact at the national and sub-national level. The book therefore examines the integration and Europeanisation of a vital part of those societies which joined the EU in 2004. The empirical focus is on case studies from the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.The book is based on the research project ‘Already arrived in Brussels? Interest representation of trade unions from the new EU member states at the EU level', which was – with financial support from the Otto Brenner Foundation – carried out under the guidance of the Research Centre for East European Studies at the University of Bremen.

The global economic crisis of 2008/2009 has had a broad impact far beyond economic concerns. Most importantly, it has been seen as a crisis of governance and debates have not just questioned specific regulations, e.g. of global financial markets, but have additionally challenged the appropriateness of underlying governance concepts not only in global markets, but also at the national level. For the post-socialist countries, which adopted market-oriented governance mechanisms less than two decades ago, the global crisis was the first stress test after the post-socialist recovery. The contributions in this book focus on the impact of the crisis and related reform attempts in two important areas. The first area is financial and monetary policy, which is at the core of the global crisis of 2008/2009. The second area is relations between business and state actors, where corruption and weak institutional frameworks can both seriously hamper reform attempts. The volume comprises essential contributions on how the post-socialist countries have tried to cope with the first global economical crisis they saw themselves confronted with.

Utilizing a wide range of empirical cases, the contributions in this volume highlight the different aspects of the role, development, and societal background of civil society in Central and Eastern Europe. The first part of the book deals with dissent under socialism. The second part of the book looks at the role of civil society in the Western Balkans in the context of the breakup of the former Yugoslavia and the related ethnic conflicts. The third part examines the role of civil society in the post-Soviet region, which is marked by authoritarian tendencies. The fourth part returns to Central Eastern Europe with an analysis of the impact of EU accession on the role of civil society and considers the underlying aspects of a'common European memory'. The final section of the book looks at two cases—one from Central Eastern Europe, one from the CIS region—of political participation and lobbying by civil society organizations.

The changes in post-socialist Central and Eastern European countries have been affected by external influences more than any preceding wave of democratization. The contributions in this volume reflect the wide variety of Europeanization processes taking place in Central and Eastern Europe. They not only serve to illustrate the significant differences among post-socialist transformations, but also highlight the variety of theoretical concepts and methodological approaches at our disposal to research different aspects of Europeanization in the broader context of globalization and identity changes. The first part of the book deals with Europeanization ‘from above', i.e. with the European Commission's deliberate promotion of specific rules and related policies during the integration process. In the second part of the book, the perspective shifts to Europeanization as a process of changing perceptions, values and identities. The third and final part of this book goes beyond the Europeanization approach. It places Europeanization in the context of the various globalization pressures on civil society. This book presents some of the best papers of the Changing Europe Summer School on “Central and Eastern Europe in a globalized world“, held at the University of Bremen, Germany in July/August 2008.