Routledge Civil Society in the Baltic Sea Region (Routledge Revivals)

This title was first published in 2003. The Baltic Sea region offers exceptionally rich material for the discussion of civil society. This is because it has witnessed the erosion of communist regimes, the crisis of the welfare state, the increasing importance of new social movements and the shift from a centralist paradigm to one oriented towards networks. This engaging book focuses on the phenomena and prospects for civil society in north-eastern Europe which have had a major impact on political and scholarly debates since 1989. Nineteen experts from the region provide a comprehensive and comparative account of the history, the present state and the perspectives of civil society in the Baltic Sea area. The reader will learn that civil society should not only be seen in opposition to the state and that it has a major impact on current developments of European integration. Review '...a useful guide to the traditions, development, and potential for civil society in the Baltic Sea Region, drawn from a wide range of empirical data...' Noreuropa Forum 'This is an extremely well structured book dealing with the problems of a civil society in the Baltic region. All of the nineteen contributors have impeccable credentials and they have written on various nuances of the problem with complete authority...Anyone with an interest in the region wil find the book informative and interesting.' USI Journal 'The editors succeed in their effort to provide empirical, material, concrete facts and a variety of approaches and problems related to the history and the present state of civil societies in different countries of the Baltic Sea area.' Slavic Review '...a much-needed addition to the literature on civil society...it has ideas and concepts that can be transposed to other regions...an appropriate addition to political science/comparative politics curricula that examine post-communist transitions and civil society formation.' Nationalities Papers About the Author Dr Norbert Götz, Assistant Professor of Nordic History, and Dr Jörg Hackmann, Assistant Professor of East European History, both work in the Department of History at the University of Greifswald, Germany.