ABSTRACT
Much has been written in the West on the sudden change brought about by Eastern Europe on one hand, and the USSR on the other; these should not be confused. Relevant analyses have become such commonplaces that it is unnecessary to begin by recalling them. I should like to consider these changes here, placing myself at a double perspective: that of the historian trained in Europe and open to other disciplines, and that of the Muslim Arab intellectual involved in the great debates of his world.
