Introduction: patterns of European industrialization during the nineteenth century

While these lines are being written, Europe is changing at a breathtaking speed. In the East, the revolutions of 1989 have taken everybody by surprise, unleashing enormous hopes for freedom and economic development. At the same time, by upsetting well-established equilibria, they have produced great uncertainty regarding the future and have created the potential for new instability in the Old Continent. Meanwhile, Western Europe is not only putting the finishing touches to the single European market to meet the 1992 deadline but also embarking on fresh negotiations for political unity among the Twelve.