The Revolutions of 1989 were a surprise to Kremlinologists because their models of change overestimated the staying power of ruling communist elites; at the same time civil society was able to form alternative political cultures which undermined the legitimacy of the socialist order. The Revolutions were the result of a prolonged systemic crisis of communism, combined with the unwillingness of Gorbachev to use force to maintain the Eastern European rulers in power. Civil society lost its fear of the repressive apparatus of the communist system as the ruling elites became increasingly disunited as to how to best respond to the crisis. After the Revolutions, other surprises were in store as the transition unfolded and the process of democratic consolidation encountered unanticipated obstacles.

Weiner details these issues in one of the most up-to-date examinations of change in East Europe. After reviewing the history of the region and the imposition of communism, he analyzes the collapse of communism and the efforts to create stable alternatives country-by-country. In addition, he examines models of change and the foreign policies of the region. An indispensable guide to the area that will be of value to political scientists and others concerned with contemporary Eastern Europe.