Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
unique to these countries, of course, with the
Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
(along with Finland and Poland) having once
been part of the Tsarist Empire - the 'prison of
nations', as Marxists called it - and more recently
of the Soviet Union, a variant on the prison of
nations metaphor. Cyprus and Malta have also
at times grappled with the problems of British
rule and the 'lingering colonial heritage' (as
described in Chapter 16).
However, the most obvious recent com-
monality that East Central European countries
share is their history of state socialism from the
1940s to 1989-1991 (it should, of course, be
noted that the term 'communism' is more
widely used, but it was effectively an unattain-
able political utopia for socialist governments).
There were, of course, variations within this
enforced structure. Apart from Yugoslavia,
which left the Soviet sphere in 1948 to pursue
'Titoism' (see Chapter 1), Hungary was some-
times satirically referred to as 'the happiest bar-
racks' within the Soviet bloc with its so-called
'goulasch communism', as, after 1968, follow-
ing the introduction of reforms through the
'New economic mechanism', its citizens were
deemed to have a greater degree of economic
freedom and better stocked shops than most
other Soviet bloc societies. However, state socia-
lism was generally considered to be an oppres-
sive and constraining force by political and
social critics.
From 1989 onwards, Thomas (1998) sug-
gests that all of the former communist states
were faced with a similar problem of how to
change their planning systems to meet the
new circumstances of operating in a market
economy. This has required new regulations
and legislation, especially regarding Western
investment and land use control. Uneven devel-
opment has been a common characteristic of
post-communist transition, intensifying the
economic and social polarization that was
re-emerging in the later years of state socialism.
Through the initial 'shock therapy' period of the
early and mid-1990s, often substantial price
increases were not matched by employment
creation and wage increases: often quite the
reverse, with large-scale lay-offs from the ineffi-
cient and outdated white-elephant industrial
plants, stagnating incomes in many other fields,
and reduced social security provision, generating
the
persistent
urban
poverty
recognized
in
recent research (e.g. Tsenkova, 2004).
The new and sudden freedoms of unem-
ployment, lack of guaranteed employment and
consumer goods availability at prices virtually
unaffordable was a quantum leap for many citi-
zens, used as they were to extensive state sup-
port and relative continuity, albeit inertia. It is
often forgotten in post-1989 writings, that the
socialist aspiration towards a communist system
had its merits, and for many people (especially
older citizens) it afforded them a more stable life
than recent capitalist upheavals. Of course, no
training was received in how to exploit political
and economic freedom, thus capitalist entrepre-
neurs have tended to emerge as an élite. There
is still also considerable mistrust of politicians,
and post-1989 governments have often tended
towards political extremes (e.g. right-wing politics)
to assert their anti-communist stance.
Thomas (1998) notes that transition path-
ways for former state socialist countries have
been diverse, despite their previous shared
experiences. Much has been written on the
trajectories that Central and East European
countries (CEECs) have followed. Here, it is
perhaps sufficient to note that although rates of
political and economic change have been varied,
all of the aforementioned countries were eligible
to join the EU in 2004 and are likely to join the
euro by 2012 at the latest, indicating a similar
level of fiscal preparedness, at least.
Almost half a century within an ideological
'bloc' left the CEECs with suppressed national
and regional identities, to some extent replicating
their experiences within the old empires prior to
the First World War. Political freedom was not
permitted and cultural expression was often
censored. However, not least for the 'new'
(Czech and Slovak republics, former Yugoslav
republics) and newly independent CEECs of the
1990s, there was a clear desire to re-assert
individuality and difference. Tourism, often
employed as an emblem of this assertion of
identity, has therefore an important role to play.
As a consequence, most of the country chapters
in this topic discuss the issue of identity con-
struction and promotion.
For example, East Central Europeans do
not view themselves as being particularly similar.
While it has been claimed that the Czech
Republic is the most atheist country in Europe
