Collision and Collusion: The Strange Case of Western Aid to Eastern Europe, 1990-1997

When the Soviet Union’s communist empire collapsed in 1989, a mood of euphoria took hold in the West and in Eastern Europe. The West had won the ultimate victory--it had driven a silver stake through the heart of Communism. Its next planned step was to help the nations of Eastern Europe to reconstruct themselves as democratic, free-market states, and full partners in the First World Order. But that, as Janine Wedel reveals in this gripping volume, was before Western governments set their poorly conceived programs in motion. __Collision and Collusion__ tells the bizarre and sometimes scandalous story of Western governments’ attempts to aid the former Soviet block. He shows how by mid-decade, Western aid policies had often backfired, effectively discouraging market reforms and exasperating electorates who, remarkably, had voted back in the previously despised Communists. __Collision and Collusion__ is the first book to explain where the Western dollars intended to aid Eastern Europe went, and why they did so little to help. Taking a hard look at the bureaucrats, politicians, and consultants who worked to set up Western economic and political systems in Eastern Europe, the book details the extraordinary costs of institutional ignorance, cultural misunderstanding, and unrealistic expectations.

When the Soviet Union's communist empire collapsed in 1989, a mood of euphoria took hold in the West and in Eastern Europe. The West had won the ultimate victory--it had driven a silver stake through the heart of Communism. Its next planned step was to help the nations of Eastern Europe to reconstruct themselves as democratic, free-market states, and full partners in the First World Order. But that, as Janine Wedel reveals in this gripping volume, was before Western governments set their poorly conceived programs in motion. Collision and Collusion tells the bizarre and sometimes scandalous story of Western governments' attempts to aid the former Soviet block. He shows how by mid-decade, Western aid policies had often backfired, effectively discouraging market reforms and exasperating electorates who, remarkably, had voted back in the previously despised Communists. Collision and Collusion is the first book to explain where the Western dollars intended to aid Eastern Europe went, and why they did so little to help. Taking a hard look at the bureaucrats, politicians, and consultants who worked to set up Western economic and political systems in Eastern Europe, the book details the extraordinary costs of institutional ignorance, cultural misunderstanding, and unrealistic expectations.

When the Soviet Union’s communist empire collapsed in 1989, a mood of euphoria took hold in the West and in Eastern Europe. The West had won the ultimate victory--it had driven a silver stake through the heart of Communism. Its next planned step was to help the nations of Eastern Europe to reconstruct themselves as democratic, free-market states, and full partners in the First World Order. But that, as Janine Wedel reveals in this gripping volume, was before Western governments set their poorly conceived programs in motion. Collision and Collusion tells the bizarre and sometimes scandalous story of Western governments’ attempts to aid the former Soviet block. He shows how by mid-decade, Western aid policies had often backfired, effectively discouraging market reforms and exasperating electorates who, remarkably, had voted back in the previously despised Communists. Collision and Collusion is the first book to explain where the Western dollars intended to aid Eastern Europe went, and why they did so little to help. Taking a hard look at the bureaucrats, politicians, and consultants who worked to set up Western economic and political systems in Eastern Europe, the book details the extraordinary costs of institutional ignorance, cultural misunderstanding, and unrealistic expectations.
When the Soviet Union's Communist empire collapsed in 1989, the West had won the ultimate victory -- it had driven a silver stake through the heart of communism and buried it at last. Soon after, the nations of Eastern Europe needed aid to reconstruct themselves as democratic states and full partners in the First World Order. Collision & Collusion, an expose on a classic tale of greed, ignorance, and the use (or misuse) of tax-payers' dollars, tells the bizarre and sometimes scandalous story of the West's attempts to aid the former Soviet block. Janine R. Wedel looks behind the scenes at the bureaucrats, politicians, and consultants who worked to set up Western economic and political systems in Eastern Europe. Collision & Collusion details the extraordinary costs of institutional ignorance, cultural misunderstanding, and unrealistic expectations. Collision and Collusion takes a hard, behind-the-scenes look at aid efforts, first in Central Europe, then in Russia and Ukraine. The book shows the slick "trans-actors" who played all sides and the globe-trotting "econolobbyists" who made grandiose promises. It exposes how Harvard's best and brightest, entrusted with millions of aid dollars, colluded with a Russian clan to create a system of tycoon capitalism that will plague the Russian people for decades - and which is widely blamed on the West. Collision and Collusion tells the tortuous tale of how Western donors, who set out to build democracy, instead often rekindled corruption, communist legacies, and anticapitalist sentiments. IN THE FALL OF 1989, a mood of triumph swept West and East alike.