Norms and Nannies: The Impact of International Organizations on the Central and East European States(New International Relations of Europe)

As they seek to join the West, the Central and East European states face challenging expectations for domestic and international political behavior. Key Western organizations, especially the European Union and NATO, hold out the promise of membership in return for adherence to specific European norms and standards. The benefits of membership are high, generating equally high pressure on governments to adopt Western norms. In this first comprehensive volume on the subject, contributors examine how this process operates in a variety of domains, including civil-military relations; social, labor and regional relations; economic and information policies; and foreign policy. Each author considers, inter alia, what norms are generated by (or absent from) European international organizations; how they are communicated to prospective members; and, most important, what impact they have had on the policies and actions of individual countries as well as on the region as a whole. Drawing from both Central and Southeastern Europe, these on-the-ground studies provide the empirical foundation needed to support theories of norm diffusion, constructivism, and liberalism in international relations and comparative politics alike.

About the Author :
Ronald H. Linden is professor of political science at the University of Pittsburgh.

Review :
A very good book--theoretically grounded, empirically rich, and wide ranging.-- "European Integration" R. H. Linden has edited a book with a clear theme and with an intriguiging title. The overall theme is coherent in showing how, why and to what degree the norms of the International Organizations have become entrenched in the Central and East European Countries.-- "Seer" This book makes a welcome and useful contribution to the debate on the post-communist transformation and Europeanization of CEE states, primarily because of its wide-ranging and informed coverage of many of the issues that remain on these states' political agenda.-- "European Foreign Affairs Review" Norms and Nannies will stimulate..discussions through its innovative findings, both in theory and research. It will also encourage them through its appealing style...-- "International Studies Review" Norms and Nannies stands out because of its integration of political theory in the economic and social environment of the CEEC. The relevant issues are described with clarity, which makes the analysis understandable to professionals from the disciplines of economics, law, international relations, foreign policy, and development studies. The theoretical part of the book reveals that the targeted audience is students of political science, but the book also provides useful information for the aforementioned disciplines.-- "Perspectives on Political Science"