Across Europe there is a rapidly changing context for undertaking regional development. In the 20th century, development of the former planned economies (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia), was defined by these countries differences, rather than their common ideological roots. These disparities altered over time and were marked by changing social structures. However, the ranking of regions has remained the same as core areas have strengthened their positions while the structural obstacles to the modernisation of peripheral areas have remained due to a lack of coherent regional policy. This book examines the specific regional development paths of Central and Eastern European countries and evaluates the effects of the determining factors of this process. Through analysis of the system of objectives, instruments and institutions used in different eras, and case studies of Hungary, East Germany and Germany, development models are established and compared with Western European patterns. The book summarises the experiences of Central and Eastern European regional cooperation and examines the basic nature of the cohesion problems of the Carpathian Basin trans-national macro region. It confirms by comparative historical analyses that the transformation was indeed unique. This book will make a welcome addition to the literature for students and academics interested in the broader picture of Central and Eastern European politics, future integration within the European Union and the history of regional development processes.

Twenty-five years into transformation, Central and Eastern European regions have undergone substantial socio-economic restructuring, integrating into European and global networks and producing new patterns of regional differentiation and development. Yet post-socialist modernisation has not been without its contradictions, manifesting in increasing social and territorial inequalities. Recent studies also suggest there are apparent limits to post-socialist growth models, accompanying a new set of challenges within an increasingly uncertain world. Aiming to deliver a new synthesis of regional development issues at the crossroads between ‘post-socialism’ and ‘post-transition’, this book identifies the main driving forces of spatial restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe, and charts the different regional development paths which take shape against the backdrop of post-crisis Europe. A comparative approach is used to highlight common development challenges and the underlying patterns of socio-economic differentiation alike. The issues investigated within the Handbook extend to a discussion of the varied economic consequences of transition, the social structures and institutional systems which underpin development processes, and the broadly understood sustainability of Central and Eastern Europe’s current development model. This book will be of interest to academics and policymakers working in the fields of regional studies, economic geography, development studies and policy.

This book focuses on the spatial transformations in the most dynamically evolving urban areas of post-socialist Central and Eastern Europe. It links the restructuring of the built environment with the underlying processes and the forces of socio-economic reforms. The detailed accounts of the spatial transformations in a key moment of urban history in the region enhance our understanding of the linkages between society and space.

This volume is a compilation of articles written by renowned scholars and promising young researchers, in which the Jewish space is revealed as diverse forms of life and relations that developed in the rich context of urbanism, social life, leisure and economic activities, and coexistence with the non-Jewish world. Having undergone various transformations, the Jewish space has preserved its authenticity and individuality. In the book, the Jewish space is analysed in a wide chronological perspective from the viewpoint of literature, history, architecture and social relations. This volume will be of interest to anyone interested in various forms of entertainment (sports, leisure, cabaret parties), living, participation in social life, reading and writing of Jews in Eastern European towns and shtetls in the 19th and early 20th century.

People observe and transgress religious borders when they relate with faith and other faiths, when they shape communities, when they make decisions. A group of researchers have joined an inquiry into the forces of religious closure and openness in present-day Central and Eastern Europe. The volume is a result of a research community constituted within the REVACERN project – Religion and Values in Central and Eastern Europe Research Network, supported by the 6th framework program of the European Union. Chapters are structured in three sections, focusing on individual experiences of religion and spirituality, on religious elites, and on the interaction of religion with politics. Sociology, political science and history are triangulated to render a clear understanding of the individual experiences of religion and secularity, and of the strategic choices of religious and political elites, taking readers along an exploration of religious identity and otherness.