Böcker utgivna av Central European University Press

Writing on Water is an attempt to grasp the phenomenon of sound in prayer, that is: a meaning in sounds and soundscapes, and a musical essence in the act of praying. The impetus for the book was the author's fieldwork among traditional Jews during the era of communism in Budapest and Prague. In that era the Jewish religion and Jewishness in general were supressed; the rituals were semi-secret and became inward-turning. The book is a witness to these communities and their rituals, but it goes beyond documentation. The uniqueness of the sounds of the rituals compelled the author to try to comprehend how melodies and soundscapes became the sustaining/protective environment, as well as the vehicle, for the expression of a world-orientation-in a situation where open discourse was inconceivable. The book is based on extensive interviews, musical recordings, photographs and scholarly analyses. It is unique in its choice of communities, its wealth of original documents, and in its novel interpretation of sound. Writing on Water is creative non-fiction. The presentation is evocative and poetic, but nevertheless, it transmits knowledge. Where this potential is understood, the book can aid research and serve in courses in philosophy, religion, music, ethnomusicology, anthropology, aesthetics, Jewish studies, folklore, oral history, and performance studies. At the same time it could be read as belles lettres.

Academic freedom-the institutional autonomy of scientific, research and teaching institutions, and the freedom of individual scholars and researchers to pursue controversial research and publish controversial opinions-is a cornerstone of any free society. Today this freedom is under attack from the state in many countries-Russia, Turkey, Venezuela, Hungary, China-but it is also under question from within academe. Bitter disputes have erupted on American campuses, for example, about the limits of free speech and about whether liberal academic freedoms have degenerated into a form of coercive political correctness. Beyond the academy itself, among the general public, academic freedom is contested ground. As Robert Post of Yale Law School has put it, academic freedom is "e;the price the public must pay in return for the social good of advancing knowledge."e; Populist currents of political opinion are questioning the price a society pays for the freedom of its 'experts' and professors.

Do the terms `pagan' and `Christian,' `transition from paganism to Christianity' still hold as explanatory devices to apply to the political, religious and cultural transformation experienced Empire-wise?

This volume focuses on the years since 1989, looking at the clash between civic values (the rule of law, individual rights, tolerance, respect for the harm principle, equality, and neutrality of the state in matters of religion) and uncivic values.

This volume discusses the social and cultural history of public health and its influence on state and nation building in East and Southeast Europe, throughout the 19th century and 20th century, including the Cold War period.

This book covers the full story of the Ustasha, a fascist movement in Croatia, from its historic roots to its downfall.

The River Dnipro (formerly better known by the Russian name of Dnieper) is intimately linked to the history and identity of Ukraine. Cybriwsky discusses the history of the river, from when it was formed and its many uses and modifications by human agencies from ancient times to the present. From key vantage points along the river's course-its source in western Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea-interesting stories shed light on past and present life in Ukraine. Scenes set along the river from Russian and Ukrainian literature are evoked, as well as musical compositions and works of art. Topics include the legacy of the region's cultural ancestors as the Kyivan Rus, the period of Cossack dominion, the epic battles for the river's bridges in World War II, the building of dams and huge reservoirs by the Soviet Union, and the crisis of Chornobyl (Chernobyl). The author argues that the Dnipro and the farmlands along it are Ukraine's chief natural resources, and that the country's future depends on putting both to good use. Written without academic pretence in an informal style with dashes of humor, Along Ukraine's River is illustrated with original line drawings, maps, and photographs.

This book is about the Americanization of Yugoslav culture and everyday life during the nineteen-sixties. After falling out with the Eastern bloc, Tito turned to the United States for support and inspiration. In the political sphere the distance between the two countries was carefully maintained, yet in the realms of culture and consumption the Yugoslav regime was definitely much more receptive to the American model. For Titoist Yugoslavia this tactic turned out to be beneficial, stabilising the regime internally and providing an image of openness in foreign policy. Coca-Cola Socialism addresses the link between cultural diplomacy, culture, consumer society and politics. Its main argument is that both culture and everyday life modelled on the American way were a major source of legitimacy for the Yugoslav Communist Party, and a powerful weapon for both USA and Yugoslavia in the Cold War battle for hearts and minds. Radina VuA etiA explores how the Party used American culture in order to promote its own values and what life in this socialist and capitalist hybrid system looked like for ordinary people who lived in a country with communist ideology in a capitalist wrapping. Her book offers a careful reevaluation of the limits of appropriating the American dream and questions both an uncritical celebration of Yugoslavia's openness and an exaggerated depiction of its authoritarianism.

This collection of essays considers the Soviet-era gulag in the Baltic States within the broader international research on displacement and cultural memory.

This book offers a detailed analysis of the construction, reception, and eventual decline of the cult of the Hungarian Communist Party Secretary, Mátyás Rákosi, one of the most striking examples of orchestrated adulation in the Soviet bloc. While his cult never approached the magnitude of that of Stalin, Rákosi’s ambition to outshine the other “best disciples” and become the best of the best was manifest in his diligence in promoting a Soviet-type ritual system in Hungary. The main argument of The Invisible Shining is that the cult of personality is not just a curious aspect of communist dictatorship, it is an essential element of it.The monograph is primarily concerned with techniques and methods of cult construction, as well as the role various institutions played in the creation of mythical representations of political figures. While engaging with a wider international literature on Stalinist cults, the author uses the case of Rákosi to explore how personality cults are created, how such cults are perceived, and how they are eventually unmade. The book addresses the success—generally questionable—of such projects, as well as their uncomfortable legacies.

This work aims to examine the history of forced and semi-voluntary population movements within or organized by the Soviet Union. Contents range from the early 1920s to the rehabilitation of repressed nationalities in the 1990s.

This study analyzes the main requirements placed on Central and Eastern Europe's financial systems during their transition to a market economy. It assesses the financial reforms already carried out in the countries of Central Europe and their adaptations of Western institutional models.

The volume contains selected papers from two conferences in 2003, at the University of Bergen (Norway) and at CEU. They deal comparatively with the communication of the Holy See with Northern Europe and Eastern Central Europe in the Late Middle Ages, both areas at the margins of Western Christendom.

An assessment of the Central and East European Publishing Project, an initiative designed to support embattled Central and East European publishers and journals, and to punch holes through the cultural Iron Curtain by encouraging translations.

Reforms in the evaluation and funding of scientific research are a key element in the broader process of economic reform in Eastern Europe. This text examines the introduction of competitive funding and offers suggestions for dealing with some of the problems encountered by East European reformers.

Paying tribute to the Brazilian essayist, thinker and diplomat Jose Merquior, this collection of papers explores some of his favourite themes: liberalism as it relates to social cohesion; political stability; morality; republicanism and democracy; and the scepticism underlying postmodern thought.

This text examines how countries suffering from low productivity levels and innovatory momentum, over a period of 20-30 years can rediscover their dynamism. It challenges the belief that balanced budgets and stable prices are sufficient to cure the ills of an economically stagnant society.

This work attempts to assess the trends in social and labour market policy in Ukraine and to help to identify the priorities to follow in the restructuring of the Ukrainian economy and the reform of social policy.

The first of a three-volume series to be published on corporate governance in Central Europe and Russia, this work specifically investigates the role of banks, investment funds and pension funds, as well as the impact of residual state ownership.

Part of a three-volume work on corporate governance in Central Europe and Russia, this work examines the nature of control exercised by insiders in Central and East European firms, and the emergence of indigenous corporate governance institutions. It also addresses the role of foreign investors.

This study analyzes the background, events and leading figures involved in the December 1993 multiparty elections in Russia. It provides historical, political, regional and sociocultural interpretations of Russia's first post-communist elections, and examines their significance.

This study is devoted to recent developments in Central European (especially Polish) political thought, and concentrates on the emergence of liberal ideas, a subject largely neglected by Western observers. It provides an account of liberal thinking in Eastern Europe before and after 1989.

The International Labour Office is the moving force behind the adoption of the Labour Force Survey in Western countries as the only reliable means of gathering information about trends in employment and unemployment, and on pay. The countries of East-Central Europe and the former USSR have recognized their need of such statistiics and turned to the ILO to help them set up systems to provide data required by decision makers. This pioneering work shows how the old "e;command"e; economies are setting up brand new systems to classify occupations, to measure employment and unemployment, and to collect information on wages and labour costs, which will be useful to students of the area and essential for statisticians world-wide concerned with the challenge of instigating an entirely new statistical service.

The authors of this treatise attempt to provide a deeper understanding of the economic and political transformations now taking place in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. They build up a detailed picture of the privatization process in the retail trade, catering and more general services. Not only are these sectors strongly relevant to consumers in these countries, but they also offer attractive possibilities for property ownership on a mass scale, as well as for the fostering of the small enterprises and entrepreneurial spirit that will be so important in the future.

In Eastern Europe privatization is now a mass phenomenon. The authors propose a model of it by means of an illustration from the example of Poland, which envisages the free provision of shares in formerly public undertakings to employees and consumers, and the provision of corporate finance from foreign intermediaries. One danger that emerges is that of bureaucratization. On the broader canvas, mass privatization implies the reform of the whole system, the creation of a suitable economic infrastructure for a market economy and the institutions of corporate governance. The authors point out the need for a delicate balance between evolution - which may be too slow - and design - which brings the risk of more government involvement than it is able to manage. A chapter originating as a European Bank working paper explores the banking implications of setting up a totally new financial sector with interlocking classes of assets. The economic effects merge into politics as the role of the state is investigated. Teachers and graduate students of public/private sector economies, East European affairs; advisers to bankers or commercial companies with Eastern European interests.

In this work, comprehensive comparative information on five Central European countries has been collected by teams of researchers from both within the region and from the West. Following an introduction to the economic environment in each country, it provides an overview of the privatization process, including an account of the legal framework of ownership, institutions for state regulation, an overview of privatization programmes and the initial transformation of enterprises. A key feature of the book is the authors' access to hitherto unavailable information and their ability to present a vast amount of material in an easily available format. Aimed at policy makers and business people, the work should provide a strong foundation for future research.

The Second Vatican Council is the single most influential event in the twentieth-century history of the Catholic Church. The book analyzes the relationship between the Council and the "Ostpolitik" of the Vatican through the history of the Hungarian presence at Vatican II.

This edited volume speaks at large about issues at the core of the dispute of Turkey's accession to the EU taking a wider angle and locating the subject in foreign policy dimensions.

Expanding the horizon of accounts of art under communism, The Green Bloc uncovers the history of artistic engagement with the natural environment in the Eastern Bloc.