The Global Economic Crisis, Eastern Europe, and the Former Soviet Union: Models of Development and the Contradictions of Internationalization

Abstract

Two UK-based geographers specializing in the economies of East-Central Europe and the former Soviet Union review the character and consequences of the global economic crisis in these countries, focusing on how forms of geo-economic and geopolitical integration undertaken during their post-socialist transitions have contributed to economic vulnerabilities exacerbated by the emerging crisis. Particular emphasis is placed on the consequences for East-Central Europe of adhering to a development model based on internationalization of the financial sector, cheap credit, and increasing reliance on exports to compensate for energy resource imports. The authors explore the likely distancing within the broader region of a group of new "insiders" (Euro-zone countries as well as the new EU member states) from an uneven landscape of "outsiders" (including Ukraine and other FSU states), as well as some of the recent tensions emerging between old and new EU member states.Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F210, F360, G010, O180, P200. 8 figures, 9 tables, 111 references.

Keywords:

• global financial crisis
• East-Central Europe
• former Soviet Union
• European Union
• European Commission
• European Economic Area
• European Neighborhood Policy
• European Central Bank
• CIS
• U.S. banks
• EU banks
• euro
• currency devaluation