Globalization Under and After Socialism: The Evolution of Transnational Capital in Central and Eastern Europe (Emerging Frontiers in the Global Economy)

Today, by a number of measures, the ex-socialist economies of Central and Eastern Europe are among the most globalized in the world. This book argues that the origins of Central and Eastern Europe’s heavily transnationalized economies should be sought in their socialist past and the efforts of reformers in the 1970s and 1980s to expand ties between domestic industry and transnational corporations (TNCs). The book’s comparative-historical analysis examines the trajectories of six socialist and postsocialist economies, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The second part of the book focuses on the region’s deepening specialization in the 2000s as a TNC-dominated transnational manufacturing hub. It identifies three international market roles that the region’s state came to occupy in the transformation: assembly platform, intermediate producer, and combined. It explains divergence within the region through the comparative analysis of the politics of institutional adjustment after socialism. "The post-communist states of Central and Eastern Europe have gone from being among the world's most closed, autarkic economies to being some of the most export-oriented and globally integrated. While previous accounts have attributed this shift to post-1989 market reform policies, Besnik Pula sees the root causes differently. Reaching deeper into the region's history and comparatively examining its long-run industrial development, he locates critical junctures that forced the hands of Central and Eastern European elites and made them look at options beyond the domestic economy and the socialist bloc. In the 1970s, Central and Eastern European socialist leaders intensified engagements with the capitalist West in order to expand access to markets, technology, and capital. This shift began to challenge the Stalinist developmental model in favor of exports and transnational integration. A new reliance on exports launched the integration of Eastern European industry into value chains that cut across the East-West political divide. After 1989, these chains proved to be critical gateways to foreign direct investment and circuits of global capitalism. This book enriches our understanding of a regional shift that began well before the fall of the wall, while also explaining the distinct international roles that Central and Eastern European states have assumed in the globalized twenty-first century" -- From the publisher Globalization Under And After Socialism : A Comparative And Historical Perspective -- The Limits Of Autarchy In The Periphery : Trade, Planning, And East European Industrialization, 1946-69 -- Upgrading Socialism : Technology, Debt, And East European Reform, 1968-85 -- Socialist Proto-globalization And Patterns Of Uneven Transnational Integration After 1989 -- Transnational Integration And Specialization In The 2000s : Diverging International Market Roles -- Critical Junctures And The Politics Of Institutional Adjustment : Explaining Divergence. Besnik Pula. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The post-communist states of Central and Eastern Europe have gone from being among the world's most closed, autarkic economies to among the most export-oriented and globally integrated. Reaching deep into the region's history and focusing on its long-run industrial development, Besnik Pula presents a counter narrative to prevailing narratives that explain this shift.