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UBC Theses and Dissertations
Back to the future, or the past? : on the re-periperalization of Central-East Europe Starrs, Sean
Abstract
It is common for many commentators in the Western establishment to claim that "communism" collapsed in eastern Europe in 1989-91, and that the region henceforth is finally able to embark upon the path to the "free market", to join the hallowed halls of Western liberal "democracy". In addition, there is much credence given to the idea of the former state-socialists' rightful "Return to Europe" after half a century of "totalitarianism", now that much of at least central-east Europe is subsumed within the European Union. Underpinning many of these assertions is the ideology of modernization, that is, the beliefsystem that a given nation-state's "development" can follow a lineal evolution if a certain set of policy prescriptions are followed, and develop from industrializing to industrialized to advanced industrialized (or post-industrial). More often than not, the criteria to be a fullyfledged advanced industrialized country, or whatever other relevant stage at the apogee of progress, is simply a description of the West. The ideology of modernization can be divided into two opposing camps: neoliberalism and neomercantilism. Both advocate policy prescriptions to modernize a country (or so they claim); both theorize without any conceptualization of the projection of power in international relations. It is the central purpose of this thesis to provide an alternative to the above assertions, ideologies, and assumptions, by using the tools of analysis from mainly world-systems theory. The thesis argues that the "collapse" of state-socialism in central-east Europe should in fact be seen as its destruction, by certain processes and logics inherent to the capitalist world-economy. In particular, an analysis of the reconstitution of the world order by the core- particularly the hegemon- beginning in the 1970s and firmly established by the 1990swhat many misleadingly refer to as "globalization"- is crucial if we are to understand what is happening in central-east Europe (and indeed the world) today the return of its centuries old peripheral status in relation to the core, i.e. its re-peripheralization. Hence, this thesis concludes that we must look back to the past, not the future, in order to understand- and possibly change- the present. Key Words: Central-East Europe; Eastern Europe; European Enlargement; Globalization; International Political Economy, Modernization Theory, Neoliberalism; Poland; Post- Socialist Transformation; Transition Studies; World-Systems Theory.
Item Metadata
Title |
Back to the future, or the past? : on the re-periperalization of Central-East Europe
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
2004
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Description |
It is common for many commentators in the Western establishment to claim that
"communism" collapsed in eastern Europe in 1989-91, and that the region henceforth is
finally able to embark upon the path to the "free market", to join the hallowed halls of
Western liberal "democracy". In addition, there is much credence given to the idea of the
former state-socialists' rightful "Return to Europe" after half a century of "totalitarianism",
now that much of at least central-east Europe is subsumed within the European Union.
Underpinning many of these assertions is the ideology of modernization, that is, the beliefsystem
that a given nation-state's "development" can follow a lineal evolution if a certain set
of policy prescriptions are followed, and develop from industrializing to industrialized to
advanced industrialized (or post-industrial). More often than not, the criteria to be a fullyfledged
advanced industrialized country, or whatever other relevant stage at the apogee of
progress, is simply a description of the West. The ideology of modernization can be divided
into two opposing camps: neoliberalism and neomercantilism. Both advocate policy
prescriptions to modernize a country (or so they claim); both theorize without any
conceptualization of the projection of power in international relations.
It is the central purpose of this thesis to provide an alternative to the above assertions,
ideologies, and assumptions, by using the tools of analysis from mainly world-systems
theory. The thesis argues that the "collapse" of state-socialism in central-east Europe should
in fact be seen as its destruction, by certain processes and logics inherent to the capitalist
world-economy. In particular, an analysis of the reconstitution of the world order by the
core- particularly the hegemon- beginning in the 1970s and firmly established by the 1990swhat
many misleadingly refer to as "globalization"- is crucial if we are to understand what is
happening in central-east Europe (and indeed the world) today the return of its centuries old
peripheral status in relation to the core, i.e. its re-peripheralization. Hence, this thesis
concludes that we must look back to the past, not the future, in order to understand- and
possibly change- the present.
Key Words: Central-East Europe; Eastern Europe; European Enlargement; Globalization;
International Political Economy, Modernization Theory, Neoliberalism; Poland; Post-
Socialist Transformation; Transition Studies; World-Systems Theory.
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Extent |
5181266 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-11-25
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0091656
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
2004-11
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.