ABSTRACT
This chapter examines whether or not Central Europe has an understanding and conceptualization of the East. The fundamental questions debated in these contributions provide deep insight into how this region understands itself in this framework. The chapter provides the reader with a new perspective and greater awareness of its conceptualization. It begins with the various perceptions and meanings of Eastern Europe and describes the various parts of Europe: West, Central, and East. While official definitions do exist in various forms, arbitrarily drawing a line on a map based on assumptions and considerations during a certain point in time may only lead to enforcing stereotypes and beliefs about one region. The black-and-white bifurcation of Europe during the Cold War made it very easy for politicians, researchers, the media and everyone living on the western side of the Iron Curtain to understand where Eastern Europe was.
