Europe since 1989: A History
An award-winning history of the transformation of Europe between 1989 and today

The year 1989 brought the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. It was also the year that the economic theories of Reagan, Thatcher, and the Chicago School achieved global dominance. And it was these neoliberal ideas that largely determined the course of the political, economic, and social changes that transformed Europe—both east and west—over the next quarter century. This award-winning book provides the first comprehensive history of post-1989 Europe.

Philipp Ther—a firsthand witness to many of the transformations, from Czechoslovakia during the Velvet Revolution to postcommunist Poland and Ukraine—offers a sweeping narrative filled with vivid details and memorable stories. He describes how liberalization, deregulation, and privatization had catastrophic effects on former Soviet Bloc countries. He refutes the idea that this economic "shock therapy" was the basis of later growth, arguing that human capital and the “transformation from below” determined economic success or failure. Most important, he shows how the capitalist West's effort to reshape Eastern Europe in its own likeness ended up reshaping Western Europe as well, in part by accelerating the pace and scope of neoliberal reforms in the West, particularly in reunified Germany. Finally, bringing the story up to the present, Ther compares events in Eastern and Southern Europe leading up to and following the 2008–9 global financial crisis.

A compelling and often-surprising account of how the new order of the New Europe was wrought from the chaotic aftermath of the Cold War, this is essential reading for understanding Europe today.

1123485871
Europe since 1989: A History
An award-winning history of the transformation of Europe between 1989 and today

The year 1989 brought the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. It was also the year that the economic theories of Reagan, Thatcher, and the Chicago School achieved global dominance. And it was these neoliberal ideas that largely determined the course of the political, economic, and social changes that transformed Europe—both east and west—over the next quarter century. This award-winning book provides the first comprehensive history of post-1989 Europe.

Philipp Ther—a firsthand witness to many of the transformations, from Czechoslovakia during the Velvet Revolution to postcommunist Poland and Ukraine—offers a sweeping narrative filled with vivid details and memorable stories. He describes how liberalization, deregulation, and privatization had catastrophic effects on former Soviet Bloc countries. He refutes the idea that this economic "shock therapy" was the basis of later growth, arguing that human capital and the “transformation from below” determined economic success or failure. Most important, he shows how the capitalist West's effort to reshape Eastern Europe in its own likeness ended up reshaping Western Europe as well, in part by accelerating the pace and scope of neoliberal reforms in the West, particularly in reunified Germany. Finally, bringing the story up to the present, Ther compares events in Eastern and Southern Europe leading up to and following the 2008–9 global financial crisis.

A compelling and often-surprising account of how the new order of the New Europe was wrought from the chaotic aftermath of the Cold War, this is essential reading for understanding Europe today.

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Europe since 1989: A History

Europe since 1989: A History

Europe since 1989: A History

Europe since 1989: A History

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Overview

An award-winning history of the transformation of Europe between 1989 and today

The year 1989 brought the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. It was also the year that the economic theories of Reagan, Thatcher, and the Chicago School achieved global dominance. And it was these neoliberal ideas that largely determined the course of the political, economic, and social changes that transformed Europe—both east and west—over the next quarter century. This award-winning book provides the first comprehensive history of post-1989 Europe.

Philipp Ther—a firsthand witness to many of the transformations, from Czechoslovakia during the Velvet Revolution to postcommunist Poland and Ukraine—offers a sweeping narrative filled with vivid details and memorable stories. He describes how liberalization, deregulation, and privatization had catastrophic effects on former Soviet Bloc countries. He refutes the idea that this economic "shock therapy" was the basis of later growth, arguing that human capital and the “transformation from below” determined economic success or failure. Most important, he shows how the capitalist West's effort to reshape Eastern Europe in its own likeness ended up reshaping Western Europe as well, in part by accelerating the pace and scope of neoliberal reforms in the West, particularly in reunified Germany. Finally, bringing the story up to the present, Ther compares events in Eastern and Southern Europe leading up to and following the 2008–9 global financial crisis.

A compelling and often-surprising account of how the new order of the New Europe was wrought from the chaotic aftermath of the Cold War, this is essential reading for understanding Europe today.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780691167374
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 09/20/2016
Edition description: New Edition
Pages: 440
Product dimensions: 5.60(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Philipp Ther is professor of Central European history and director of the Institute of European History at the University of Vienna.

Table of Contents

Preface to the English Edition vii

1 Introduction 1

On the Road to 1989 1

Postrevolutionary Europe 12

Neoliberalism on the Rise 16

Europe in Transformation 20

2 Where the East Meets the West: Crisis and Reform Debates in the 1980s 33

The Demise of State Socialism 33

An Alternative Reading of the Cold War 37

The Neoliberal Turn in East and West 39

3 The Revolutions of 1989–91 49

Milestones of the Revolutions 49

Causes of the Revolutions 54

Centers and Agents of Revolution 66

The “Negotiated” Revolution 71

4 Getting on the Neoliberal Bandwagon 77

Milestones of the Transformation 77

The Bumpy Road of Reforms in Eastern Europe 79

Neoliberalism’s Inherent Problems 95

A Typology of Reform Outcomes 102

5 Second-Wave Neoliberalism 112

Neoliberalism at Full Speed 112

Flat Tax Systems and Populism 115

Human Capital 120

New Wealth 126

Rich Cities, Poor Regions 132

The EU’s Marshall Plan for the East 144

6 Capital Cities Compared 161

Chalk and Cheese? Or Why We Should Compare 161

The Situation before 1989 163

Transformation from Below 167

The New Business Boom 176

Poor Berlin 184

Boomtown Warsaw 192

Metropolitan Convergence, or Why the East Looks like the West 200

7 The Great Recession: 2008–9 and Its Consequences 209

The End of Economic Convergence? 209

Variations of Crises 217

Predatory Lending in Central and Eastern Europe 221

Political Reactions: Between Neoliberalism and Authoritarianism 226

8 Southern Europe: The New East? 235

Crisis Commonalities between Southern and Eastern Europe 235

Escape Route: Mass Migration 246

Mental Maps of Europe 248

9 Cotransformation: The Case of Germany 259

Social and Labor Market Reforms in Germany 261

The Civil Society Debate 273

The Politicians Who Came in from the East 279

10 The Roads Not Taken 288

Mass Participation in Revolution 288

The Values of 1989 297

Birth Pangs of United Europe 306

The Conflict over Ukraine 314

Europe after Neoliberalism 329

Acknowledgments 339

Notes 343

Selected Bibliography 399

Index 419

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This is a great and original book. It offers keen personal observations of a wide range of European countries across several tumultuous decades, and brings forward new facts and perspectives. It will remain the history of the European transition from communism to capitalism for many years to come."—Mitchell A. Orenstein, University of Pennsylvania

"This brilliant book is a masterpiece of contemporary history and far and away the best thing that's been published about the huge historical turn that began in Europe in 1989. It instantly becomes the go-to book for understanding the period, totally supplanting previous accounts. Philipp Ther makes the events of 1989, and what followed, not simply a history of Eastern Europe, but a history of Europe as a whole, with both east and west entranced, and partly blinded, by the neoliberal imperative."—Larry Wolff, New York University

"This book features a lively and imaginative intellect on every page. But Philipp Ther's erudition is also extraordinary; he ranges with authority over the entirety of Europe in prose that sparkles and flows effortlessly. Europe since 1989 provokes, informs, and entertains, and there is not a dull moment in the entire book."—John Connelly, University of California, Berkeley

"Philipp Ther provides a richly detailed history of postcommunist Europe, employing key comparisons enhanced by wonderful personal knowledge of many locations. At a time when the public seems finally ready to question the neoliberal orthodoxy of the past few decades, Ther's narrative offers some major evidence."—Charles S. Maier, Harvard University

"Ther presents sweeping macroeconomic evidence with clarity and precision."—Paweł Marczewski, Metropole

"A compelling history."Bookseller Buyer's Guide

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