Suchergebnisse

A review essay on books by (1) Elizabeth Pond, The Rebirth of Europe (Washington, DC: Brookings, 1999); (2) Ilya Prizel, National Identity and Foreign Policy: Nationalism and Leadership in Poland, Russia, and Ukraine (New York: Cambridge U Press, 1998); & (3) Angela E. Stent, Russia and Germany Reborn: Unification, the Soviet Collapse, and the New Europe (Princeton: Princeton U Press, 1999). These books examine the factors that lead to former Soviet bloc nations' acceptance or rejection of Western democratic & market systems. Pond's study of the historical rationale that guided the EU's emergence is welcomed for demonstrating the complexities behind Germany's acceptance of democracy & incorporation into the EU; in addition, Pond's text is praised for illustrating the EU's problems in adopting the Euro & the inability of certain national governments to adequately address impending economic problems. Stent's book is congratulated for closely analyzing the former USSR's influence on the separation of West & East Germany & Germany's eventual reunification. Prizel's assertion that the emergence of national identities in Russia, Ukraine, & Poland in modern history were responses to other national identities is discussed; specific attention is directed toward Ukraine's failure to develop a national identity & Poland's creation of one after the USSR's dissolution. The implications of incorporating Russia & Ukraine into the EU are briefly considered. J. W. Parker