This course will focus on countries that joined the European Union in 2004 and 2007 (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, the Baltic States, Bulgaria and Romania). We will begin with a brief survey of the political history of the region and the establishment and sustenance of Communist rule in the Eastern Bloc, and proceed to analyze events that led to the transformation. The course will focus on the political and economic transformation in the region and the path to membership in the European Union. We will compare new EU members with the countries of Western Europe. We will conclude with a survey of the current situation in the countries of "New Europe" and their relations with "Old Europe" and other countries.

(This course is identical to PSC 169, offered in Summer 2012. Students may not take IR 222 for credit if they have previously received credit for PSC 169.)