An award-winning history of the transformation of Europe between 1989 and todayThe year 1989 brought the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. It was also the year that the economic theories of Reagan, Thatcher, and the Chicago School achieved global dominance. And it was these neoliberal ideas that largely determined the course of the political, economic, and social changes that transformed Europe-both east and west-over the next quarter century. This award-winning book provides the first comprehensive history of post-1989 Europe.Philipp Ther-a firsthand witness to many of the transformations, from Czechoslovakia during the Velvet Revolution to postcommunist Poland and Ukraine-offers a sweeping narrative filled with vivid details and memorable stories. He describes how liberalization, deregulation, and privatization had catastrophic effects on former Soviet Bloc countries. He refutes the idea that this economic "shock therapy" was the basis of later growth, arguing that human capital and the "transformation from below" determined economic success or failure. Most important, he shows how the capitalist West's effort to reshape Eastern Europe in its own likeness ended up reshaping Western Europe as well, in part by accelerating the pace and scope of neoliberal reforms in the West, particularly in reunified Germany. Finally, bringing the story up to the present, Ther compares events in Eastern and Southern Europe leading up to and following the 2008-9 global financial crisis.A compelling and often-surprising account of how the new order of the New Europe was wrought from the chaotic aftermath of the Cold War, this is essential reading for understanding Europe today.

Preface to the English Edition vii
1 Introduction 1
On the Road to 1989 1
Postrevolutionary Europe 12
Neoliberalism on the Rise 16
Europe in Transformation 20
2 Where the East Meets the West: Crisis and Reform Debates in the 1980s 33
The Demise of State Socialism 33
An Alternative Reading of the Cold War 37
The Neoliberal Turn in East and West 39
3 The Revolutions of 1989-91 49
Milestones of the Revolutions 49
Causes of the Revolutions 54
Centers and Agents of Revolution 66
The "Negotiated" Revolution 71
4 Getting on the Neoliberal Bandwagon 77
Milestones of the Transformation 77
The Bumpy Road of Reforms in Eastern Europe 79
Neoliberalism's Inherent Problems 95
A Typology of Reform Outcomes 102
5 Second-Wave Neoliberalism 112
Neoliberalism at Full Speed 112
Flat Tax Systems and Populism 115
Human Capital 120
New Wealth 126
Rich Cities, Poor Regions 132
The EU's Marshall Plan for the East 144
6 Capital Cities Compared 161
Chalk and Cheese? Or Why We Should Compare 161
The Situation before 1989 163
Transformation from Below 167
The New Business Boom 176
Poor Berlin 184
Boomtown Warsaw 192
Metropolitan Convergence, or Why the East Looks like the West 200
7 The Great Recession: 2008-9 and Its Consequences 209
The End of Economic Convergence? 209
Variations of Crises 217
Predatory Lending in Central and Eastern Europe 221
Political Reactions: Between Neoliberalism and Authoritarianism 226
8 Southern Europe: The New East? 235
Crisis Commonalities between Southern and Eastern Europe 235
Escape Route: Mass Migration 246
Mental Maps of Europe 248
9 Cotransformation: The Case of Germany 259
Social and Labor Market Reforms in Germany 261
The Civil Society Debate 273
The Politicians Who Came in from the East 279
10 The Roads Not Taken 288
Mass Participation in Revolution 288
The Values of 1989 297
Birth Pangs of United Europe 306
The Conflict over Ukraine 314
Europe after Neoliberalism 329
Acknowledgments 339
Notes 343
Selected Bibliography 399
Index 419