Democracy and EU Membership in Post-Communist Europe

Module code: PL3136

The fall of communism in the Eastern Bloc and the then-Yugoslavia left a mass of new countries in Europe, right on the doorstep on the expansionist European Community. As these countries began to democratise and assert their independence, many of them decided to look to Europe. You will examine this process and the associated fall-out in this module.

You'll examine recent democratic and EU-related developments in Central and Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans. You'll also look at how historical and political contexts in the post-communist regions affect political views towards democracy and the EU and evaluate the theory behind the process of democratisation. In addition, you'll critique current political and societal problems in the post-Communist countries.