Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents a geographical analysis of problems associated with socio-economic changes taking place in East-Central Europe. The idea was to provide depth and clarity to the debate on understanding those geographical problems facing the emerging East European states nearly a decade after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Input from West European colleagues clearly emphasized the role of the regional dimension. It was apparent to them that regions in Eastern Europe varied immensely. Social development assumes transition from an industrial to post-industrial/informational phase, where progress has already reached this stage in the advanced civilizations of richer states. The legacy of a Soviet-imposed type of ‘real socialism’ appears to have been more fundamental and enduring in the region than was previously believed.