I was thinking in generalities today about Eastern Europe and the questions posed by economic development in the region (though I’ve never actually been there). There are economic, political, social, and cultural changes occurring in Eastern European states, like Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, and Turkey, as they relate to Western Europe and the European Union. For instance,
- how do memories of the Bosnian War in the 1990s, including the mass rapes, impact efforts to support human development and economic growth in the state?
- what are the ramifications of a relatively low-income country like Romania being integrated into the European Union and its financial system?
- what do recent events in Turkey foretell about potential challenges posed by rising numbers of Muslim immigrants in Western states like France?
- is it appropriate for Eastern European states to model their economic developments (being careful here to use the plural) on those of Western states in centuries past?
- what mistakes did Western European states make during the past few centuries which Eastern European states could learn from and avoid?
These questions are difficult, which sometimes makes them tempting to ignore. However, they are crucial for the future of Europe and for the lessons they offer for political integration around the world.