Reporting the Post-Communist Revolution by R. s> Giles R. W. Snyder L. DeLisle (review)

Abstract

REVIEWS I73 Lane examines the emergence of the emigre PresidentAdamkus,and his role in steeringLithuaniatowardsEuropeanUnion and NATO membership. The greatesthurdle that Lithuaniafaced in the immediate aftermathof the Soviet occupation was the economic legacy of the failed Communist system. Lane splits this period into two: firstlythe period of transition, which runs until 1995, and the remainder:from I995 untilthe present. During the period of transition, Lithuania's economy was woefully mishandled by the government , which led to Lithuania lagging behind its Baltic neighbours. As examples of this, Lane highlights the inadequate and constantly changing policy of land reform, the unsuccessfulprivatizationpolicy and the failureto maximize foreign investment. The more recent period has, however, seen an improvement, although Lane reflects on the difficulty Lithuania faces in accessingher traditionalpre-Warmarketsbecause of the restrictivepolicies of the EuropeanUnion. Application for membership of the European Union is commented on in depth, along with that of NATO. This is a twin-trackpolicy that Lithuania's successive governments have all pursued since i99I. Joining both organizations is seen as the only way to counter Lithuania's ongoing sense of vulnerability. Even though a decade has passed since the restitution of independence, Russia remains the greatest concern and security threat to Lithuania. This situation is exacerbated by the existence of Kaliningrad:an enclave of Russianterritorysituatedto Lithuania'ssouth-west.If, as expected, the Prague Summit of 2002 admits Lithuania into NATO, there will be a piece of Russian territory surrounded by NATO members. When EU membershipfollows, Kaliningradwill again cause problems as Lithuaniawill eventuallybe bound by the SchengenAgreementwhich allowsfreemovement of people within the EU borders.Throughout his book, Lane demonstratesa clear awarenessof the powerful sense of Lithuanian national identity, which sustainedLithuaniathroughcenturiesof occupationandprovidedthebedrock for the reconstructionof an independent Lithuanianstate. He concludes that admissioninto the EU will not in anyway dilute this. Lithuania. Stepping Westward is an excellent analysisof that country. Possibly its only weaknessis that it does not dwell enough on the years following I995 in particular.But as it would be clearlywrong to shortenthe pre-I99I section, perhapsfutureeditions of thisbook deservean additionalvolume to cover the yearsfrom 1995 untilthe presentin the detail that they merit. But thisisjust a minor criticism Lane's work should become requiredreading for scholars and Lithuaniaenthusiastsalike. London A. E. ASHBOURNE Giles, R.; Snyder, R. W., and DeLisle, L. (eds). Reporting thePost-Communist Revolution. Media StudiesSeries.TransactionPublishers,New Brunswick, NJ, and London, 2001. xv + 245 pp. Tables. Further reading. Index. [I8.95 (paperback). SPLIT into three parts, Reporting thePost-Communist Revolution contains twentythree essays, concluding with a review essay. The themes cover a wide area 174 SEER, 8I, I, 2003 rangingfrom the fall of communism (PartOne), throughthe developments in the media systemsof Central and EasternEurope in the decade afterthe fall of the Berlin Wall (PartTwo), to the assertion of a new media identity (Part Three). The claim made in the preface that a sort of democracy in print preceded democracy in law is not entirelyconvincing. The communist censorswere far moreworriedby thelikesofHavel and Solzhenitsynthanjournalists,who were all stateemployees. Also, creativewritingis an activitycarriedon for the most part by a small group of people. Driven by a need to express and to explore certain ideas and carried out in self-imposed solitary confinement, creative writing is surelythe opposite of the sort of authorialegalitarianismwhich the editors claim was taking place before I989. Those that challenged the communistpartieswere a minorityand were not alwaysunderstoodor highly regardedby a majoritythatwaspreoccupiedwiththe dailygrindof survival. Exploring the role of the BBC during the Cold War, John Tusa cites Alexander Lieven's advice that a 'cool, detached, almost clinical approach is called for' (p. iI). Any sense of superiorityor a 'holier than thou' approach, asserted Lieven, would be resented by the audience. On the face of it this is straightforward,yet it reveals more about the BBC's approach than Lieven realizes. To play Devil's advocate: the BBC's programmers adopted a detached and cool approach not out of any single-minded devotion to truth but because they believed it to be more effective. In other words, the BBC's approachcould, reasonably,be regardedasessentiallypragmaticand tactical, even Machiavellian perhaps. Moreover, once you establish a reputation for being 'cool and detached', it is easierto get awaywith the odd lie, or even the judicious...