(May 21 - June 18)
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 EU. 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 the “New Europe” and their relations with “Old Europe” and other countries.