The Baltic States from the Soviet Union to the European Union

Rezensionen / Stimmen

'The volume is well written by a competent team of scholars from Sweden - itself a testament to the links between the Nordic and Baltic countries. The excellent insights on the micro-processes of accession are relevant to anyone interested in how states respond to EU pressures and adapt to the role of being members. [...]Besides the broad relevance of topics discussed, the book advances understanding of European democracies' -- Allan Sikk, University College of London, School of Slavonic and East European Studies 'The aim of Richard Mole's book, as its subtitle indicates, is to address 'Identity, discourse and power in the post-communist tradition of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania'. His account of the years of Soviet occupation and the emergence of the Baltic states is informed and scrupulously accurate in its facts, statistics, and data. The study also recognizes that these are restored states, not new ones; it addresses the difficulties of creating a multi-cultural democracy in the contemporary world, especially for those states with large Russian populations; and it offers a well-researched analysis of the economic and political reforms that were needed to effect the transition from the USSR to membership in the EU. [...] A well-researched study: it distils a large body of data to analyse the difficult transitional period from USSR to EU and is a welcome and valuable addition to the body of literature about the Baltic in the modern world.' - MARA KALNINS, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge; Notes and Queries 2013.