By carefully differentiating between Central Europe, East Central Europe and the Balkans, (ac)Attila Agh shows how the term ‘Eastern Europe' was a political misnomer of the Cold War. Drawing on theories of democratization to develop a common conceptual and theoretical framework, this textbook is the first to place the political and social changes of this complex region in a genuinely comparative perspective. Through broad thematic sections the student is shown how to distinguish between processes of democratization and redemocratization, transition and transforma