The Eastern Enlargement of the European Union is one of the key developments in the history of European integration due to the large number of accession countries, the variety of their cultures and the challenges resulting from their recent – and ongoing – system transformation. And with Turkey and the Western Balkan states, enlargement will continue to be one of the major issues on the political agenda.
The contributors focus on a variety of perspectives and comparisons, highlighting institutions, actor constellations, interests, rational choice approaches, common identities and perceptions of history, and the influence of basic values and norms. The constraints and intricacies of the accession negotiations are reflected as well as the strategy of the Commission and the national interests and sometimes protectionist stance of some EU Member States.
An appendix contains basic data on the countries of the former Eastern Bloc, the results of the European Parliament´s vote on accession and the outcome of the referenda in the accession countries on joining the European Union. Anselm Skuhra is Professor of Political Science at the University of Salzburg. He graduated from the University of Vienna and taught at the Universities of Denver-GSIS/CO, Rutgers/NJ, Tübingen, Sarajevo, and Warsaw.