The International Political Economy of Transition Neoliberal hegemony and Eastern Central Europe's transformation RIPE Series in Global Political Economy Series

Shortlisted for the 2013 BISA IPEG Book Prize, this book explores how Eastern Europe?s post-communist transition can only be understood as part of a broader interrogation of neoliberal hegemony in the global political economy, and provides a detailed historical account of the emergence of neoliberalism in Eastern Central Europe.

Adopting an innovative Gramscian approach to post-communist transition, this book charts the rise to hegemony of neoliberal social forces. Using transition in Poland as a starting point, the author traces how particular social forces most intimately associated with transnational capital successful in the struggle over competing reform strategies. Transition is broken down into three stages; the "first wave" illustrates how the rise of particular social forces shaped by global change gave rise to a neoliberal strategy of capitalism from the 1970s. It goes on to show how the political economy of Europeanization, associated with EU enlargement instilled a "second wave" of neoliberalisation. Finally, exploring recent populist and left wing alternatives in the context of the current financial crisis, the book outlines how counter-hegemonic struggle might oppose a "third wave" neoliberalisation.

The International Political Economy of Transition will be of interest to students and scholars of international political economy, post-communist studies and European politics

1. Introduction: Contextualizing post-communist transition. 2. Theorizing the international political economy of post-communist transition. 3. Towards passive revolution: The making of modern Eastern Central Europe. 4. The emergence of neoliberal social forces in the struggle for hegemony. 5. From shock therapy to Europeanization: Neoliberalization through depoliticization 6. Counter hegemonic social forces in post communist transition 7. Conclusion: Beyond transition? Beyond the transnational?

Stuart Shields teaches International Political Economy at the University of Manchester