Illiberal Europe Eastern Europe from the Fall of the Berlin Wall to the War in Ukraine

by Marc, Leon

• ISBN13: 9780857305510
• ISBN10: 0857305514
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2023-05-21
• Publisher: Oldcastle Books

Summary

Leon Marc gives the reader the big picture of Eastern Europe - its political, economic, social and cultural history, the nature of changes there and of 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. Three key strands of Eastern Europe - Central Europe, Eastern Europe proper and Southeast Europe - are identified and the Germanic, Byzantine and Ottoman influences on the region are examined. Illiberal Europe? is written in an accessible, non-academic way, addressing the stereotypes about the region and their roots and explaining why the notion of Eastern Europe is now obsolete and misleading. It gives an Eastern European's perspective, and is informed by the author's own personal experience of the changes that brought the Wall down. This updated and expanded edition contains a brand new chapter bringing this book up to date with recent events, including Covid-19 and the Ukrainian conflict.

Author Biography

Leon Marc is a diplomat and writer, with a deep interest in history. Currently the Slovenian Ambassador to The Hague, Netherlands, he studied Public Policy and Management in the UK and was involved in the student movement in his native country at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall. He witnessed his country joining the European Union in 2004 as a diplomat in Dublin, Ireland and later dealt with the Western Balkans file.