Juchler, Jakob (Zürich) 1998

Der wirtschaftliche und politische Transformationsprozess Osteuropas in komparativer Perspektive

Ten years ago the historical transition process in Eastern Europe began. Since then many studies have been published. But broad oriented comparative works, especially in the empirical domain, are lacking. The following article makes a contribution in this direction: some basic economic and political tendencies are presented and documented with empirical materials.

It is a truism that the changes in the "postsocialist" countries of Eastern Europe can be seen largely as part of global development trends, in particular political democratisation and economic deregulation, privatization and globalization. Where form and intensity are concerned, however, many of these processes show special characteristics resulting above all from historical factors, especially the common inheritance from socialism. But there also exist relevant differences between the East European regions and countries, differences essentially bound up with long term factors such as the cultural-historical tradition and the level of development. The question as to which direction the transformation process takes in the "postsocialist" countries should therefore be treated with caution. In effect, a complex mix of different economic and political structures and development trends has evolved.




Report: "Global Trends and Regional Differentiation in the Transition Process in Eastern Europe - an Empirical Comparison":
Schlussbericht an die Stiftung Weltgesellschaft, Zürich 2000

Vorwort in Deutsch

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