Adrian Pop

The 1989 Revolutions in Retrospect

Reminding us of the failure of academia to predict the East European revolutions, and the challenges presented by the latter to the theories of revolution, the essay claims that in order to understand why the exit from communism comprised so many varied modes, one should take a ‘path-dependence’ diachronic and synchronic comparative perspective. Based on this dual approach and a set of variables, the essay advances a typology of East European revolutions and argues that the issues regarding the type of political regime, the development of civil society and its way of interacting with the state are of paramount importance for comprehending how the ‘negotiated revolutions’ in Central Europe came about. Finally, the significance of the Central European civil society strategy under late communism for the era of globalisation is addressed.

Security: from Powder Keg to Cooperation

With the regime changes in Serbia and Croatia, the signing of the agreement that put an end to violent hostilities in Macedonia, and the setting up of the Union of Serbia and Montenegro along with a new legitimate government in Kosovo, it seemed that a new window of opportunity had opened in the Balkans. However, shifts in the strategic environment and Western security priorities after the terrorist attacks of September 11th and, again, after the escalation of the Middle East crisis have generated the fear that that window might close.

When the Mouse Challenges the Cat: Bessarabia in Post-War Soviet—Romanian Relations

One may easily draw up general models of how the Soviet Union imposed its political system on neighbouring countries on its Western borders and beyond in the aftermath of the Second World War. However, the challenges and threats directed against Soviet hegemony in East-Central Europe — from the Tito—Stalin conflict to the effects of de-Stalinization — followed a wide variety of patterns.