A History of Eastern Europe 1918 to the Present

Ian D. Armour

Why is Eastern Europe still different from Western Europe, more than a quarter-century after the collapse of Communism? A History of Eastern Europe 1918 to the Present shows how the roots of this difference are based in Eastern Europe's tortured 20th century.Eastern Europe emerged in 1918 as the 'lands between', new states whose weakness vis-à-vis Germany and Soviet Russia soon became obvious. The region was the main killing-field of the Second World War, which visited unimaginable horrors on its inhabitants before their 'liberation' by the Soviets in 1945. The imposition of Communist dictatorships on the region, ironically, only deepened Eastern Europe's backwardness. Even in the post-Communist period, its problems continue to make it a fertile breeding-ground for nationalism and political extremism.A History of Eastern Europe 1918 to the Present explores the comparative backwardness of Eastern Europe and how this has driven strategies of modernisation; it looks at the ways in which the region has served as a giant test-tube for political experimentation and, in particular, at the enduring strength of nationalism, which since 1989 has re-emerged more virulent than ever.This book in the essential textbook for any student of 20th-century Eastern Europe.

Comprehensive, accessible textbook charting the main developments in Eastern Europe since the First World War

List of MapsPrefaceIntroductionPart One: The Pre-History of Twentieth-Century Eastern EuropeChapter 1: The Making of "Eastern Europe"Chapter 2: Melting-Pot: Eastern Europe in the First World WarChapter 3: A New Europe? The Peace Settlement 1918-23Part Two: Pig in the MiddleChapter 4: Problems of the Interwar PeriodChapter 5: Test-Tube of Ideologies: CommunismChapter 6: Test-Tube of Ideologies: Conservative AuthoritarianismChapter 7: Test-Tube of Ideologies: FascismChapter 8: The East European Origins of the Second World WarChapter 9: Hell's Kitchen: Eastern Europe in the Second World WarChapter 10: War as Revolution: Political Consequences of the Second World WarPart Three: Saddling CowsChapter 11: Great Leap Backwards: The Imposition of Communism 1944-48Chapter 12: National Communism vs. StalinismChapter 13: The Perils of De-Stalinisation: Poland and Hungary in 1956Chapter 14: Last-Chance Saloon? The Prague Spring of 1968Chapter 15: Absurdistan, or 'Real Existing Socialism' 1968-1980sChapter 16: The Solidarity Phenomenon in Poland 1980-89Part Four: All Change?Chapter 17: The Bear Vanishes: Gorbachev and the Roots of Revolution 1985-89Chapter 18: The Power of the Powerless: The Velvet Revolutions of 1989Chapter 19: The Wages of Nationalism: Soviet, Yugoslav and Czech-Slovak Break-UpChapter 20: Eastern Europe in the 21st Century: Post-Communist ModernisationChapter 21: Eastern Europe in the 21st Century: Nationalism and GeopoliticsConclusion: Retirement of a Concept?BibliographyIndex