Driven to change. The European Union’s enlargement viewed from the east

Abstract:

This work brings a rare perspective of European expansion to Central and Eastern Europe in so far as it offers a view from the East looking in rather than the more common approach of the Union looking out.

The book is organised over eleven chapters. The first chapter is by way of introduction and presents the key elements in the debate about enlargement and the conditionality which accompanies the process. Chapter two looks at the impact of enlargement principles upon the democracies and institutional stability of candidate countries. Chapter three explores the impact of conditionality and enlargement governance in a country specific situation - that of Slovakia - and is followed by further country specific chapters. The fourth chapter addresses the constitutional changes experienced in Poland's preparation for EU membership. The influence on the economy and society of Estonia is the focus of chapter five. Bulgaria is featured in chapter six which addresses monetary policy and Bulgaria's currency board arrangements. Chapter seven looks at agricultural land development in Slovenia. The administrative reforms necessary for candidates to implement the acquis are explored in the next three chapters which feature regional reform in Hungary, administrative reform in Romania, and public administration in Latvia. The final chapter offers a conclusive summary of the experiences of interaction between the drive for change through enlargement and the domestic transformations as revealed in the case studies.

The work will interest scholars, students and political scientists engaged in European Union studies and the emergent democracies of Central and Eastern Europe.

Antoaneta L. Dimitrova is Associate Professor in the Department of Public Administration at Leiden University, the Netherlands.

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