The volume is an attempt to assess the meanings of 1989, in particular the multiple transformation processes and their effects in Eastern Europe. Obviously, the realities of the post-communist transformations have not met the expectations. Were the expectations too high? Did democratic institutions prove incompatible with local cultures? Was their implementation too fast to correspond to a genuine development of democratic culture? Whatever the reasons, the road to democracy has turned out to be steeper and the communist legacy heavier than expected.
The authors of this volume seek to...

The basic questions of this book concern the contemporary role and importance of the presidency in the European Union. How has the presidency - initially quite a modest function - been able to gain such a significant role for the EU proceedings? It managed to initiate far-reaching projects, solve basic negotiating problems, or - until the Lisbon treaty - to represent the Union externally. What are the main challenges related to its preparations and how it is run? Answers to these questions seem to be necessary to capture the elements of the contemporary dispute over the political leadership...