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This introduction provides some insights on this special issue of Mortality, entitled Dying and Death in Former Communist European Countries, setting the issue against the general background of death studies and, more specifically, of death studies in eastern European countries. Some relevant references to the Dying and Death in 18th-21st Century Europe International Conference, organised in Romania, at the '1 Decembrie 1918ʹ University of Alba Iulia, Romania, between 2007 and 2019, are also made. The rationale and also the limitations of this special issue are brought into attention. The papers that form this issue are briefly presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of modern cremation was much more than a notion of a more hygienic, ecological and aesthetically acceptable method for the disposal of human remains. From its inception at the end of the 18th century, all the way into the second half of the 20th century, it was tied to various political, national and cultural ideologies, with the common factor throughout being anticlericalism and secularisation. In this paper, I will explore the development and status of the idea and practice of cremation in countries which found themselves behind the Iron Curtain after the Second World War. Did modern cremation serve in the interest of socialist social order and communist ideology, and if so, in what way? What was the fate of the idea in relation to the specificities of different communist regimes and what factors affected its adoption or rejection? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public administration (PA) as a discipline and public governance as a closely related concept have been developing constantly and rather rapidly in recent years. A particularly lively progress is characteristic of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), owing to its post-communist legacy and subsequent transition. This paper outlines the mainstream topics of PA development within The NISPAcee Journal, which covers the CEE region and beyond. The principal objective of the paper is to systematically and quantitatively codify a series of text documents that comprises 142 articles published between 2008 and 2016 in The NISPAcee Journal, in order to identify the characteristics of PA development in the region. The paper investigates three hypotheses: first, whether the quality of the articles changed throughout 2008 - 2016; second, whether The NISPAcee Journal attests a multidisciplinary orientation in terms of scientific contributions from different disciplines, and third, whether The NISPAcee Journal reflects the West-East knowledge transfer among PA academia. The three hypotheses were tested against seven analytical dimensions. The research findings reveal that governance is the prevailing cognitive paradigmatic approach of The NISPAcee Journal. Europeanisation is the common thread of almost all articles, with a particular emphasis on the ideological elements of the Neo-Weberian and New Public Management doctrines. Qualitative methodology is still the prevailing research method, and the occurrence of mixed methodology is rare. The topical orientation of the analysed manuscripts is very diverse. A considerable emphasis is placed on the analysis and development of PA as a discipline. The majority of researchers originate from CEE countries and focus their studies on Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and the Caucasus. Scientific partnership between the Eastern and the Western academic worlds is still scarce. Given the low level of exchange of best academic practices between Western and Eastern Europe, research results indicate the need for an increased internationalisation of the NISPAcee Journal and a more holistic approach to tackle the future challenges of global and regional PA and public governance more adequately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the period of transition after the fall of communism in the late 1980s, cities in the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) encountered a range of processes that have reshaped their structure and functions. Regeneration effort was a major approach considered as a suitable tool to overcome burdens of the communist urbanistic model, which was typical of high population density, extent public spaces, and resulting in a weak interlink between urban design and the needs of local communities. In this paper, we use the best practice approach and analyse 56 urban regeneration projects carried our between 1989 and 2011 in 12 of the CEECs in order to identify the key issues addressed by regeneration effort and to evaluate the success with which the regeneration projects involved local communities. In addition, the case study based on a questionnaire survey (Neštěmice, Northern Czechia) is presented, illustrating the level of public participation within the regeneration project and perception of project results by the local community. Our results suggest that although there exist important territorial differences among the CEECs, the involvement of local communities in planning and designing the regeneration projects is still generally low. It is also shown that the regeneration projects in post-communist cities are not resolved comprehensively, i.e. that the structures, which are subject to regeneration, are addressed individually with weak relation to community needs and to the surrounding areas of a city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper suggests that European political identity, as a fragile project, is always in need of external significant 'others' in order to buttress a sense of common fate within the sui generis political entity of the European Economic Community/European Union (EU). Adopting a historical and diachronic perspective, the paper argues that for decades the threat of Eastern European communism represented one such external other as a gathering element for Western Europe, but that with the end of the Cold War this 'other' was gradually replaced by the threat of Islam and Islamism (and by extension Turkey's possible entry into the EU). Europe's threat was first the communist sickle; it is now Islam's crescent. Such a portrayal is obviously problematic because of its populist and simplistic appeal that has served political purposes. This needs to be questioned. The return of religion through what is currently described as desecularisation is a rather recent issue for Europe and the question of multireligious Europe ought to be taken seriously. The paper argues, in the line of Delanty, that one should adopt a civilisational approach to Europe, thus giving real space to differences within Europe, and reflect on certain biases of secularity and laicite towards the dominant religion in various countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the relationships between higher education and the labour market in Serbia. In order to understand this relationship better, this paper will first provide a brief history of the country and the history of its higher education structures. The paper will then discuss higher education from post Second World War until the fall of communism, highlighting how tertiary education met the goal of preparing young people for life in a socialist economy. The second part of the paper will discuss higher education after the fall of communism, and will show how higher education is not inadequately preparing Serbian graduates for the needs not only of the free market, but the new global economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the concept and possibility of the democratic policy of collective memory in national and trans-national, or European, contexts. The presupposition of the paper is that memory, while largely unintentional, is also intentional and even partially constructed and, as such, always subjected to influences, even manipulations, i.e. to different policies. Memory is no doubt a "political question" and every policy deals with it, trying to shape social memory according to some political and ideological objectives. In particular, communism implied a very strong policy of memory aiming at destroying many sorts and layers of memory in favour of another. After the fall of communism there have also been many attempts at reshaping collective memory. These recent attempts have been certainly much more democratic than the communist manipulations but far from being based on the democratic principle of equality of different perspectives and discussion. The attempt was rather, namely in Poland, to replace, once again, one kind of "official" memory by another. The really democratic policy of collective memory should imply, on the contrary, a free confrontation of different and sometimes opposing memories in the open public sphere where no "symbolic violence" has place and where all participants not only treat each other as equals but are also ready to modify the meaning of their particular memory and look for mutual comprehension, if not for agreement. The question is whether such democratic policy can ever be more than a moral postulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• By focusing on the case of Lithuania, this paper develops a framework for understanding the development and characteristics of interest groups and the broader category of interest systems in the former Communist countries of Eastern Europe. • Nearly two decades have passed since the transition to democracy in the former Baltic Soviet republics and Eastern Europe. These nations have established democratic elections, modern judicial systems, institutions of representative government and guarantees of civil rights and civil liberties. Successful democratization, however, also requires the construction of a civil society characterized by open channels of communication between citizens and interests and their governments. Recent studies of the democratization of the former Soviet republics and satellite states in Eastern Europe have rarely addressed the development and role of interest groups and lobbying in these nations. This paper fills this void by presenting the findings of the first major study of interest group politics and lobbying in Lithuania. The major findings are based upon interviews of nearly 50 Lithuanian political, academic, bureaucratic and media elites conducted in the July of 2005. • Overall, the lobbying community in Lithuania is underdeveloped, often corrupt, and is negatively perceived by many Lithuanians elites. Much of this is due to the legacy of communism which heavily influences the perception and efficacy of interest groups and lobbying resulting in a suspicion among the public and government officials that has impeded the development of an effective lobbying community. Lithuanian interest groups do not use sophisticated practices or tactics of lobbying; access is largely based on personal connections and corrupt practices. The business community is the most effective lobby due to its contacts and extensive resources; in contrast, the labour lobby is weak due to a hangover from communist times. Looking to the future development of the Lithuanian lobbying community, it is unclear what effect the entry of Lithuania into the European Union (May 2004) will have on the development of interest group activities and lobbying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the manner in which the east of Europe has been theorized in the post cold war environment, and the implications for our understanding of the relationship between east and west. It argues that hegemonic discourses of neoliberalism lend a quality of inevitability to the integration of east into west, which in turn leads to a singular conception of Europe at the end of a trajectory of development. The paper argues that the relationship of western Europe to eastern Europe is more fruitfully explored through the conceptual framework of a center to its margins, which allows for a broader range of analysis on the issues – conceptual and implementational – at stake in transition processes, and which will allow for a theoretical exploration of where power is located and exercised. Because eastern Europe is understood in scholarly and policy communities as politically and geographically European, the study of postcommunist transition in Europe falls outside the purview of a development studies community that is increasingly focused on the emerging north/south divide. In a scholarly environment where the East/West divide no longer constitutes a salient focus of study, there is a need for the development of a framework that will provide a richer understanding of the reconstituted relationships being formed in Europe in the post-cold war environment. This paper argues that the social, economic, and political impact of disciplinary neoliberalism in eastern Europe can benefit from an analysis that takes into consideration the Eurocentric, disciplinary power that lies at the core of the transition process. Toward this end, it is necessary to query the discursive foundations of what constitutes the `properly European' in order to develop a framework for a more fruitful course of analysis with respect to the relationship between Europe and its fluctuating eastern margins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The politics of identity is a controversial and ardent topic in contemporary constitutional theory. As this paper is intended to show, East-European minority politics may provide an interesting angle to the study of this sensitive and complicated issue. The dilemma is the following: It is the Murphy-law of prejudice that when it comes to the maltreatment of members of various ethnic groups no serious definitional or recognition-difficulties arise. It is because when it comes to discrimination or ethnic hostility, it is always the daily practice of the majority that will define membership in the discrete and insular minority group. Defining qualification requirements therefore to minority groups seems to pose difficulties only in the context of minority-identity based preferences. This anomaly is however more then of theoretical jurisprudential interest, as in some cases the entire effectiveness of the aimed minority protection schemes may depend thereon. It is fearful that having a post-communist mentality towards state policies with an ethnicized system of preferences, due to the lack of political cultural and public moral restraints, these preferences will simply be seen as services provided by the (alienated, thus for no sympathy or co-operation eligible) state. What seems to be in the centerfold of East European minority politics is thus ``ethnocorruption '', that is the utilizing and misusing of remedial measures for private and from the legislator's intentions independent means. In this paper, following a constitutional semantical analysis of the minority identity, the demons of ethnocorrpution will be demonstrated through a comparative assessment of a case study of a Hungarian legislation and its possible progeny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the extinction of the communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe and the vacuum left behind by them, states have entered a stage of political crisis and establishing future trajectories in terms of governance. In this paper we propose to discusses several aspects concerning different trajectories of post-communist states and the factors that influenced their journey [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artistic representations of the Holocaust (be they literary, visual, or cinematic) have, more often than not, stirred up controversies and provoked heated debates in the academic and non-academic circles alike. Of these kinds of representations, the cinematic ones - by virtue of the medium's undeniable popularity - have often been at the forefront of such discussions, in which their content and mode or representation have been analyzed and scrutinized for authenticity, appropriateness, and historical accuracy. The aim of my paper is not so much that of doing a content analysis of films about the Holocaust, but rather to investigate the social and historical context in which they were made, by looking at three case studies of Central- and East-European countries: Poland, Hungary, and Romania. All three countries share similarities (the fact that they were all part of the Soviet bloc until 1989), but also notable differences: while in Poland and Hungary, popular dissent with the communist regime was more vocal and visible in the latter half of the ninth decade, the national-communist Romanian regime tried to stifle completely any form of political opposition. The legacy of the Holocaust was also dealt with differently in all three cases, a factor that undoubtedly influenced both the number, and the content of films directly or indirectly representing it. My intention, therefore, is to make a comparative analysis of Holocaust representations in Polish, Hungarian, and Romanian cinema by focus - ing on films made both before, and after 1989, from Andrzej's Wajda's Samson to István Szabó's Sunshine and from Péter Forgács' Free Fall to Radu Gabrea's Gruber's Journey, with the aim of discovering whether the social and political context in which these films were made had any impact on their representation of the Holocaust and, if so, to what extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The rise of life expectancy in Europe has been a very uneven process, both in time and space. This paper aims to identify instances in which major political conditions are likely to have influenced the rise of life expectancy, focusing on formation and dissolution of states and supranational blocs and on differences between political regimes (democratic vs. authoritarian non-communist and communist rule). Data on life expectancy, cause-specific mortality and political conditions were compiled from existing data sources. Possible relations between political conditions and life expectancy were studied by direct comparisons of changes in life expectancy in countries with different political conditions but similar starting levels of life expectancy. We found that formation and dissolution of states often went together with convergence and divergence of life expectancy, respectively, and that otherwise similar countries that did or did not become part of the Soviet bloc had distinctly different life expectancy trajectories. Democratically governed states had higher life expectancies than authoritarian states throughout the 20th century. The gap narrowed between 1920 and 1960 due to rapid catching up of infectious disease control in both non-communist and communist authoritarian states. It widened again after 1960 due to earlier and more rapid progress in democratic states against cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, motor vehicle accidents and other causes of death that have become amenable to intervention. We conclude that the history of life expectancy in Europe contains many instances in which political conditions are likely to have had a temporary or more lasting impact on population health. This suggests that there is scope for further in-depth studies of the impact of specific political determinants on the development of population health in Europe. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the context of the forceful dispute over national identity in Moldova, the Communist government of 2001–2009 aimed to articulate a project of “Moldovan identity” which was raised to the level of a state ideology. In the spirit of Soviet propaganda, this project was implemented through public holidays and celebrations. The following analysis examines two case studies—the Wine Festival and the Independence Cup—by discerning the performative practices designed as part of the nation-building project in Moldova between 2005 and 2009. Organized at the official level, but with the strong assistance of mass media, these public events were intended to win the support and attention of Moldovan society by employing rituals and performances similar to those of the Soviet period. The paper addresses the characteristics and mechanisms of these performative practices, and considers why this nation-building project did not achieve its goals, but instead caused tension and disputes. One of the main aims is to understand how the Communist government sought to redefine “the Moldovan nation”. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article examines the relationship between the policies of the Soviet Union and the state of communism in Europe following World War Two. The author attests that two fundamental differences arose in the Soviet attitude regarding Europe: the cessation of revolution as a viable means of solving conflicts between states and the emergence of a communist influence that was integral to Europe’s future. The role of Joseph Stalin, who held the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union’s Central Committee, is discussed. The paper urges that the hostilities that arose between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia led to the demise of any potential for international communism.

What happened 20 years ago in the region formerly ruled by a communist regime was a velvet revolution. And even if it was a revolution without bloodshed, it is a legitimate question to ask what was realized of the revolutionary motto: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité? Liberty is a bundle of rights, composed of at least three sets: (1) political rights; (2) rights of free entrepreneurship, free entry to the market; and (3) freedom of choice between alternative goods and services. There is great progress in achieving all three categories of liberty. As for egalitarian values, inequality rapidly increased, causing aversion against the new order in a large fraction of society. Fraternité, in other words solidarity, is a widely accepted value, but there are great difficulties in its implementation. Post-socialist countries inherited a premature welfare state. The majority of people would prefer universal social entitlements, while the necessary material resources are not sufficient for these ambitious goals. This paper concludes with a discussion of various policy options for easing the contradictions between conflicting and inconsistent objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European ex-Communist countries have been widely considered to possess little associational life. The main explanation for this observation has been the lack of organizational vivacity in the past, either during the Communist regime or before it. More recently, however, some researchers, and especially those involved with area studies, have warned such a conclusion might be hasty and incorrect. The associational history of Bulgaria—a case that has not been much studied until now—provides additional support in favor of the argument that pre-Communist associational life in the region has been abundant. The evidence provided in this paper comes from an original compilation of more than 100 organizations classified according to contemporary standards and from narratives on the most popular and populous organizations in the country since the nineteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the fall of communism in the Soviet Union, newspapers, films, academic researchers and intelligence agencies warned against a new phenomenon in organized crime: the “Russian mafiya.” In fact, since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Western European countries have noted an increase in the number of criminals from Central and Eastern Europe. In the mid-1990s, the Dutch judicial authorities made the issue a priority and established a special team to investigate crime with links to Eastern Europe. From 1999 to 2005, the KT NON crime team published several studies and reports on serious crime of this nature. In this paper, the authors, who were assigned to the KT NON crime team, discuss the findings of the two most recent publications on the “causes, nature, scale and threat of Central and Eastern European crime” and “mobile banditry,” respectively. They come to the conclusion that among other forms of crime, the phenomenon of mobile banditry seems to be the most serious manifestation of crime from post-communist countries. The Russian mafia was not found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In the democratization process of post-Communist Eastern Europe and Eurasia, civil society development is an important focus for both foreign donors and scholars. This paper utilizes USAID’s “NGO Sustainability Index for Eastern Europe and Eurasia”—the first attempt at compiling comparative data on civil society growth for all post-Communist countries—in a statistical analysis of structural factors and aggregates-of-individuals characteristics argued to support a functioning civil society. I discuss this first attempt at generating data that stands to move the field from intricate knowledge of a few conventional cases to broad comparisons that allow us to think systematically about these countries’ common experience with Communism. Then, in the statistical analysis section, I argue that both structural and individual factors matter for the development of civil society in the post-Communist context. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Church leaders in Europe frequently lament that the environment is nonreligious and unchristian. Reflecting on how the European countries which fell under Communist domination have adjusted to the post-Communist era, the paper advances the view that the situation should be characterized differently. European Christianity stands on the threshold of another of its historical metamorphoses. The continent is not simply unchristian or nonreligious, but neither is not religious in a Christian way. Christianity is not the religion of present-day Europe, and at the same time European Christianity can no longer be seen as a “religion.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces a series of papers on the transition of post-communist states in East and Central Europe in the context of social justice. Causes of poverty and wealth in Russia and Estonia; Income levels based on the theory of reward justice; Unification of Germany.

Since the fall of the Communist parties' regimes, the Central/South-East Europe countries have, inter alia, tried to reorganize their local government systems in the manner that would be closer to democratic principles or principles that were accepted in so called Western Europe. A comparative analysis of this article is focused on local government systems which have been introduced in the Czech Republic, FYR of Macedonia, Slovakia and Slovenia and, within this context, especially on positions of the political representatives, who are elected at the local levels in these countries. Due to similar socio-political and economic history of these countries in the 20th century as well as due to their efforts to become members of the European Union, it is possible to assume that they have introduced similar local government systems. However, as stressed in the article, similar ideas and comparable ways of their implementation may produce different outcomes in different environments. Thus, despite the fact that the processes, which should lead to their achievement, were often supported by various international organizations and despite a manifested desire of the selected countries to join the EU, they have introduced significantly different local government systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past centuries Bulgarian people experienced severe religious and ethnic threats due to which they have developed defense mechanisms and a strong sense of sympathy for persecuted ethnic and social groups. In recent history, this reflex was manifested most clearly in the behavior of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in defense of the Bulgarian Jews. At the same time two other events, however, reveal its controversial image that caused it a severe damage. In recent years, many Bulgarians are seeking the moral dimensions of these phenomena that influence the spirituality and morality of the younger generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the economic conditions of the Roma, a minority group in Europe. Background of the group; Involvement in the Serbian war; Effect of the collapse of communism; Occurrence of forced migration; Commitment of Romani leaders to education.

The article focuses on how this special issue of the periodical was conceived, planned and executed. The fall of the Berlin Wall catalyzed a crisis for scientists and technologists in the former communist countries so serious as to be without precedent. On 28 to 31 August 1994, in Budapest, the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST) held a Conference under the overall title of "Science, Technology and Change: New Theories, Realities, Institutions." One major theme at this meeting was the presentation of a large number of papers, at several sessions, describing and analyzing the present state, and likely future prospects, of what has become the topic of this Special Issue: "The Research System in Post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe." Those present were impressed, shocked and moved: the idea now appearing between covers was born. All concerned realized that the enterprise was caught between conflicting priorities: to be done at all, it had to be done both quickly since the situation itself is changing rapidly and well, since its gravity must be matched by the seriousness of its presentation, and the thoroughness of its analysis.