NATO Enlargement & Central Europe A Study in Civil-Military Relations

The future of the Central European nations will in many ways be linked with the enlargement of NATO to meet the new challengers of the post?Cold War world. As a result of reunification with the Federal Republic of Germany, East Germany has, in effect, become the first of the former Warsaw Pact nations to enter NATO. The four countries discussed in this volume ? Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia ? all have interest in joining the Alliance as well, and all have made commitments in varying degrees toward that goal. To understand why these nations are striving to meet the criteria for inclusion in a NATO enlargement program, and how well they are succeeding, one needs an appreciation of the political history of each nation since the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact. In this book, Jeffrey Simon, one of the most experienced and well informed analysts of Central European matters, offers just such a history. He begins with Poland's extremely complex and difficult struggle toward democratic government since 1989, reminding us of the violende done to Polish society and the Polish people earlier this century and illuminating recent political events that otherwise might seem merely chaotic. Then he traces the somewhat easier struggles of Hungary and Czechoslovakia, explaining with admirable clarity how these nations advanced along parallel but different paths, and why the Czech Republic and Slovakia have advanced at different paces since the 'Velvet Divorce' ? the amicable separation of these two nations. This invaluable work ? which has been completed with the cooperation and encouragement of the nations involved ? stands as an authoritative, meticulously documented, and very timely history of the swift transition from socialist to democratic political principles in Central Europe in less than a decade.Ervin J. RokkeLieutenant General, United States Air ForcePresident, National Defense UniversitySimon, Jeffrey is the author of 'NATO Enlargement & Central Europe A Study in Civil-Military Relations' with ISBN 9780898758535 and ISBN 089875853X.