(c) 2002 Copyright Lidija Rangelovska.
The Belgian Curtain
Europe after Communism
1st EDITION
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.
Editing and Design:
Lidija Rangelovska
Lidija Rangelovska
A Narcissus Publications Imprint, Skopje 2003
First published by United Press International - UPI
Not for Sale! Non-commercial edition.
(c) 2002 Copyright Lidija Rangelovska.
All rights reserved. This book, or any part thereof, may not be used orreproduced in any manner without written permission from:
Lidija Rangelovska - write to:
palma@unet.com.mk or to
vaknin@link.com.mk
Visit the Author Archive of Dr. Sam Vaknin in "Central Europe Review":
http://www.ce-review.org/authorarchives/vaknin_archive/vaknin_main.html
Visit Sam Vaknin's United Press International (UPI) Article Archive
http://samvak.tripod.com/guide.html
http://samvak.tripod.com/briefs.html
http://ceeandbalkan.tripod.com
http://samvak.tripod.com/after.html
Created by: LIDIJA RANGELOVSKA
I. European Union and NATO - The Competing Alliances
II. The War in Iraq
III. How the West Lost the East
IV. Left and Right in a Divided Europe
V. Forward to the Past - Capitalism in Post-Communist Europe
VI. Transition in Context
VII. Eastern Advantages
VIII. Europe's Four Speeds
IX. Switching Empires
X. Europe's Agricultural Revolution
XI. Winning the European CAP
XII. History of Previous Currency Unions
XIII. The Concert of Europe, Interrupted
XIV. The Eastern Question Revisited
XV. Europe's New Jews
XVI. The Author
XVII. About "After the Rain"
EU and NATO - The Competing Alliances
By: Dr. Sam Vaknin
Also published by United Press International (UPI)
Saturday's vote in Ireland was the second time in 18 months that itsincreasingly disillusioned citizenry had to decide the fate of theEuropean Union by endorsing or rejecting the crucial Treaty of Nice.The treaty seeks to revamp the union's administration and the hithertosacred balance between small and big states prior to the accession of10 central and east European countries. Enlargement has been thecenterpiece of European thinking ever since the meltdown of the easternbloc.
Shifting geopolitical and geo-strategic realities in the wake of theSeptember 11 atrocities have rendered this project all the more urgent.NATO - an erstwhile anti-Soviet military alliance is search of purpose- is gradually acquiring more political hues. Its remit has swelled totake in peacekeeping, regime change, and nation-building.
Led by the USA, it has expanded aggressively into central and northernEurope. It has institutionalized its relationships with the countriesof the Balkan through the "Partnership for Peace" and with Russiathrough a recently established joint council. The Czech Republic,Poland, and Hungary - the eternal EU candidates - have full sca