Restituting victims: EU and NATO enlargements through the lenses of collective guilt

Abstract

Following the disintegration of the Soviet bloc, many Central and Eastern European countries launched a vigorous ‘come back to Europe’ campaign, which primarily focused on accession to NATO and the European Union. I interpret the decisions of the Euro-Atlantic community to enlarge eastward as a historical restitution for countries affected by the ‘black trinity’: the Munich Agreement, the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, and the Yalta–Potsdam Conferences. Collective guilt of the Euro-Atlantic community transformed the process of accession by constraining the opposition, creating a sense of urgency, and shaping the geographical scope of Eastern enlargement.