Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book deals with the Soviet perspective the authors do touch both in a direct and in an indirect fashion on Soviet attitudes as a superpower and as the regional hegemon toward the East European states. It examines the East European political culture and cultural attitudes towards the Soviet Union and the possible emergence of regional cultural identity. There is also the importance of selecting appropriate case studies to try to assess trends or at least tendencies. In the economic realm this is particularly vital since this is where the main thrust of Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies have taken place. An analysis of economic development in Hungary under the New Economic Mechanism should help illuminate the issues of reform throughout Eastern Europe and also in some important respects in the Soviet Union.