Abstract
This paper provides an overview of what the EU is and why it attracts several countries. It then looks at the economies of different Eastern European countries and examines what changes they need to make to be accepted into the EU.

1 .Introduction
2. A Brief History
2.1. Introducing the CEEC
2.1.1.The Agricultural Issue
3. An EU Perspective
4. Funding Issues
5. Case Studies
5.1 Czech Republic
5.2 Hungary
5.3 Poland
5.4 Slovenia
6 The Argument Over Integration
7. Conclusion
8 Bibliography

From the Paper
"The European Union faces many arduous tasks in upcoming years. The most troublesome possibly being that of enlarging the size and the scope of its members. Currently, it is in the discussion of the European Union to extend enlargement to central and Eastern Europe. Over the course of the next decade, the European Union will be propositioning some new candidates to join their ranks. The first group includes the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia; countries likely to join later are Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and the Slovak Republic. The first countries are not expected to join until 2003-2005."

Tags:european, union, economics

Abstract
The following paper reviews Ivan T. Berend's "History Derailed: Central and Eastern Europe during the Long Nineteenth Century". Specifically, the paper looks at how Berend wisely takes the time to touch upon the perceptible insecurity of the East and Center as it witnesses the dramatic rise of Western Europe to global prominence - an insecurity which undoubtedly explains why the East and Center has historically been "distinct" from the West in profound ways throughout modern history even though the two regions share the same continental landmass. Proceeding further, the paper looks at Berend's failure to draw the sort of explicit linkages that might make the unfolding of Central and Eastern European history (and the present day) more comprehensible to first-time students. Lastly, the paper concludes by lauding Berend's text for its strong, lucid organization. The writer concludes that while a generally engaging and well-written text, Berend's work is certainly not without its apparent flaws.

Tags:history, derailed

Abstract
This paper relates that Ivan T. Berend, in his book "History Derailed: Central and Eastern Europe during the Long Nineteenth Century", discusses the perceptible insecurity of Eastern and Central Europe as it witnessed the dramatic rise of Western Europe to global prominence. The paper then examines Berend's failure, in the book, to draw the explicit linkages that might make the unfolding of Central and Eastern European history more comprehensible to first-time students. Additionally, the paper points out the strong and lucid organization of Berend's work but concludes that, while a generally engaging and well-written text, Berend's work is certainly not without its apparent flaws. .

From the Paper
"To begin with, Berend does a capable job of outlining the instigating factors which made it incumbent upon Eastern Europe to "modernize". Not least of all, Eastern and Central Europe was compelled to re-assess its own progress and economic system in light of the startling ascendancy of the west. Most crucial of all, Berend touches upon the fact that Eastern European and Central European nations felt themselves not only backward relative to the west, but also vulnerable to any expansionist ambitions their western colleagues might contemplate. In a related vein, the elite of the aforementioned nations was troubled by the fact that it was being consigned (indeed, already was consigned) to the continental periphery (Berend, 1; for a further discussion of Western European ascendancy, please see also pages 5-8). The inclusion of such sentiments in the book may seem a small matter, but what Berend has done is remind readers of how so much of what passed for Central and European politics in the "long nineteenth century" was motivated feelings of fear and pangs of insecurity."

Tags:politics, military, science, technology, modernism, authoritarianism

From the Paper
"The year 1880 marked the beginning of the third period of Jewish immigration to the United States. What began as a trickle became a virtual flood, whose headwaters were located in the countries of Eastern Europe. From 1987-1910 alone 449,000 Jews emigrated from Poland to start a new life in America.

Coming to America became a great drama of redemption for East European Jewish masses. After the Partition of Poland in 1793, part of the country came under Russian czarist rule; Catherine the Great was none too happy to receive these Jewish wards.

Russian policy was pervaded by very discriminatory patterns; the Jews were tightly circumscribed inside the "Pale" (the area that was formerly Polish territory), which moved the .... "

Abstract
The writer of this paper defines the term Orientalism, which comes from the Latin word oriens, as the rising sun, which generally implies, 'the East.' This paper focuses on the culture, religion, art and history of Orientalism. This paper explores the European view of Islam throughout history. The writer explains that during the birth of Christianity and Islam there was a distinct difference between European Christian cultures and those of East and North Africa, which are detailed at length in this paper. During the Middle Ages the European Christians denounced the Islamic people as the enemies of Christendom, due to their lack of knowledge of Eastern culture. This paper discusses how the Enlightenment thinkers of the 18th century viewed the Eastern culture as being superior to that of the Christian west. This paper illustrates that Islamic societies were praised for their religious tolerance when compared with Christian west. This paper also delves into those who opposed the Orientalist culture, such as James Mill, who believed that Eastern civilizations were stagnant and corrupt and Karl Marx who believed that Eastern methods of production were static. Christian evangelists further maligned Eastern traditions as superstitious nonsense. This paper also examines the rich artistic history of the Oriental culture. Depictions of Islamic Moors were found in Medieval and Renaissance art, but it wasn't until the 19th century that Orientalism became recognized in the arts. This paper also details the outspoken views and opinions of political activist and author Edward Said.

Table of Contents:
Definition of Orientalism
History of Orientalism
Orientalism in the Arts
History of Orientalism in the Arts
Edward Said and Orientalism
References

From the Paper
"Photography was still in its infancy and did not allow for the capture of the sunlight, the colors and the mood in which a painter could. With the iconoclastic nature of Islam, and the forbidding of the depiction of the prophet Muhammad, there was little representational art in Islam. Most of their artwork was centered on pattern and design. For this reason, the Muslim world had very little visual record of their history, including the people and the cities that existed prior to modern photography. Today, still, the best visual record of exotic cities like Cairo or Damascus, prior to the advent of modern photography, exists in 19th century paintings by Europeans and Americans. In the mid to late 19th century, painters from every country in Europe and from across the oceans in America, came to the East."

Tags:art, islam, africa, north, europe, christianity, conflict, culture, history, edward, said

Abstract
This paper explains why economic development was such a crucial question in Eastern Europe during the period 1918-1939. The three countries discussed are Hungary, Poland, and Romania.

Tags:EUROPEAN STUDIES (HISTORY, CULTURE) / EASTERN EUROPE, RUSSIA, development eastern europe

Abstract
This paper explains that the Jews had been the historical and current agents of the hated leaders of the past; therefore, at the beginning of the 19th century, as these leaders were brought down, the hatred spread to the Jews. The author points out that, even today in Europe, there is a modern movement that uses some of the same old ideas of inferiority to deem Jews less than others, regardless of their level assimilation or secularization and regardless of the length of time in which they have lived within their chosen communities. The paper relates that there were internal conflicts, which challenged the Jewish culture, as Western Jews attempted to separate themselves from the Eastern Jews, basing their rejection on the anti-Semitics of the culture at large.

From the Paper
"Yet, things were often as fluid as the generational movement of the Jewish people during their famed diaspora. Up to this point, it was clear in both regions (east and west) that the level of tolerance for the ethnic and religious differences of the Jews was under considerable analysis by the majority cultures. Just as these regions were gaining personal independence for themselves, the Jews were losing rights and privileges and suffering the effects of renewed anti-Semitic values by these cultures. Europe was in a sense returning to much earlier days but, in this case, it was traveling toward legislative and legal sanctions that infringed on the rights and movements of the Jews."

Tags:agents, hatred, inferiority, conflict, sanctions

Abstract
The following paper is a report to Congress by the Center for American Technological Progress. The paper runs through the history of American technology, placing much of the focus upon the eventful nineteenth century when the United States when from a predominantly agrarian society to one that, as the century drew to a close, was poised to supplant Great Britain as the dominant industrial power on the planet. The next several pages not only explores the formative years of American technological innovation, but also addresses how the "American system" - the reverence for intellectual property rights, the constitutional checks and balances, the absence of an ossified social hierarchy, the de-centralization of power - made it possible for America to catapult itself into the vanguard of industrial nations while other countries, Russia, assorted Eastern European lands, and Japan languished far in arrears. In the end, the paper concludes that the United States became - and remains - a dominant global technological power because America cherishes free enterprise, encourages dynamism and creativity, has a proud tradition of patent protection, and - whatever its foibles - has a constitution in place that prevents autocracy and authoritarian inefficiency from taking root. The paper asserts that the historical lesson for the United States is that the nation's institutions are worth cherishing - and that America must continue to forcefully protect intellectual property rights at home and abroad.

From the Paper
"The following paper is a report to Congress by the Center for American Technological Progress. The paper will, as time permits, run through the history of American technology, placing much of the focus upon the eventful nineteenth century when the United States when from a predominantly agrarian society to one that, as the century drew to a close, was poised to supplant Great Britain as the dominant industrial power on the planet. The next several pages will not only explore the formative years of American technological innovation, but will also..."

Tags:technology, america, history

Abstract
While Anzia Yezierska's "Bread Givers" is a work of fiction, the story of the Smolinsky family is quite typical of the reality faced by many Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Yezierska writes, not only of economic and monetary struggles tackled by countless immigrants, but of a familial dynamic emblematic of Eastern European Jewish culture. This paper explains how, through her account of Sara Smolinsky and family, Yezierska tells a history that recounts past struggles in the Jewish shtetl of Russian Poland, continuing all the way through the Americanization of the second-generation Jewish immigrant. It shows that this powerful tale of Sara Smolinsky helps create a context to further study the rich history of the Eastern European Jews in America.

From the Paper
"The story of Sara Smolinsky begins well before the first chapter of Bread Givers. One cannot fully understand the direction Sara's life takes in America without first understanding the heritage and culture from which she came. While Bread Givers is centered around Sara and her family's experiences in America, the life of Sara's parents before immigrating to the United States is an integral part of Sara's story."

Tags:immigration, pogrom, orthodox

Abstract
This paper examines the effect of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919 on European history during the interwar period. It looks at how the territorial, financial and security framework and arrangements created by and under the treaty ultimately (by the late 1930s) failed to keep the peace in Europe. It evaluates how the terms of the treaty and the manner it was imposed on Germany contributed to the continuing instability of Central and Eastern Europe and to revanchist sentiment in Germany.

Outline
Basic Facts
Treaty Terms: Motivations and Consequences
Impact of the Treaty's Economic Provisions
Overall Assessment of the Treaty's Impact
Conclusion

From the Paper
"The reparations clause of the Treaty helped to undermine the political and economic stability of Germany and other nations in Central and Eastern Europe. The original amount of reparations demanded by the Allies ($200 billion by France) and ($120 billion by Britain) far exceeded postwar Germany's capacity to pay (Bailey 245). The combined burden of the initial reparations payments exacted from Germany in the early 1920s ($5 billion in gold), the dislocation to the German economy caused by the revolutionary situation at home and the adverse effects of the French occupation of the Ruhr led to a devastating devaluation of the German mark and hyperinflation."

Tags:nazi, germany, reparations, ruhr, west