The Legacy of Division

Reviews / Votes

"Some books answer questions, and some books inspire readers to ask more questions. The Legacy of Division belongs to the latter group. In an essayistic way, it invites a broad audience to consider questions of the present and the past. Readers might include scholars, students, and journalists, but thanks to the essayistic style, any member of the broader public interested in understanding the varied nature and legacies of the East-West divisions will find the book engaging. The future is open, and our thinking about it is richer thanks to The Legacy of Division."
https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=999140 -- Petra Guasti * Hungarian Historical Review * "This rich and insightful collection of twenty-eight essays, originally published in Eurozine online in 2019, reflects on the fate of eastern Europe thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is an impressive but depressing compilation that captures the angst experienced by many of the region's inhabitants-and by a majority of outside observers."

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/slavic-review/article/legacy-of-division-east-and-west-after-1989-ed-ferenc-laczo-and-luka-lisjak-gabrijelcic-budapest-central-european-university-press-2020-x-337-pp-appendix-notes-bibliography-index-illustrations-2999-paper/2BCE120EC29C4772AD793957CED9B7DE -- Peter Rutland * Slavic Review * "The overthrow of communism was peaceful in the majority of Central and Eastern European countries. Most citizens of East Central Europe viewed membership in the European Community as a prized goal that will aid rapid improvement in their standards of living, seamless inclusion in the European Market, and a democratic political system. While some economic successes cannot be denied, transformation was slow and unequal. After the global financial crisis of 2008, economic liberalism became burdened with statism, paternalism and oligarchic rule; and the crony model of capitalism or elements of authoritarianism ("illiberal democracy") reappeared. Therefore, largely, the conclusion drawn by most of the contributors for The Legacy of Division is that new curtains have appeared, but these are made of much lighter materials than the old Iron Curtain." -- Susan Glanz * Hungarian Cultural Studies *