Transnational Actors in Central and East European Transitions. Pitt Series in Russian and East European Studies by M. A. Orenstein , S. Bloom , N. Lindstrom (review)

Abstract

REVIEWS 789 Gypsyculturalassociationare the fruits of outsideraction,not theirown. Romaniactivists are sometimes regarded withsuspicion bytheveryconstituencytheyare intendedto serve,whileGypsycynicsregardthe activists as 'puppetsin thehandsofthepoliticians in power5. Furthermore, theactivists themselves areriven bydissent. Somewantcultural minority rights and access totheeconomicand socialadvantages enjoyedbyothercitizens, whileothers simply wantthesame rights as othersubjects.And theyask formorethan their democratically-elected governments can afford to givethem. Vermeersch carefully setsout the gains and lossesin termsof poverty, discrimination and unemployment in legal,politicaland international contexts , butthetext veersoccasionally towards advocacyand theeconomiccontextdoes notreceiveadequateattention. London PhilipLongworth Orenstein, M. A., Bloom, S. and Lindstrom, N. (eds). Transnational Actors in Central and East EuropeanTransitions. Pitt Series in Russian and East EuropeanStudies.University ofPittsburgh Press,Pittsburgh, PA, 2008. x + 260 pp. Notes.Bibliography. Index.$27.95(paperback). This book offers a rangeof competing perspectives ratherthan a unified approachto the issue of the influence of transnational actorson Central and East Europeantransitions. The editorsassertthattransnational actors have been the'darkmatter thatheld thevariousaspectsofpostcommunist transition together'. The bookproposes thata quadrupletransition framework goingbeyondtheprevious focuson nation-building, democratization and marke tization - willprovidedeeperinsights. This cnew transnationalism', inwhichtheboundaries between international relations and comparative politics beginto collapse,takesa broad definition oftransnational actorsand thisis reflected in thebroad rangeofissuesand policyareasthatthisbookcovers. Thereare twomainareasoffocusin thisvolume:first, howtransnational actorsseekto exerttheir influence, and second,howinfluential theyactually are at thenationallevel. In terms ofthefirst theme,thefirst essay,perhapsunsurprisingly, focuses on theroleoftheEuropeanUnion.Here,Milada AnnaVachudovaoutlines the rationalist view of the EU's conditionality approach to dealingwith prospective members. Throughtheuseofpassiveand activeleverage, theEU has been the 'causal behemoth'of transnational influence on Centraland EasternEurope.This essayis theodd one outin thisvolumeas itrehearses a well-known argument and unlike theotheressaysdoesnotfocuson anyone particular issueorpolicyarea. The nextthreeessaysseekto combineelementsof bothrationalist and constructivist approaches. NicoleLindstrom looksat efforts tocombathuman trafficking in theBalkans,something thathas becomean 'obsession'forthe international community. The existence ofcompeting frames or conceptions 790 SEER, 88, 4, OCTOBER 2010 being used by different transnational actorsto approach the problemis identified as a potential sourceofnegative or unintended consequences. Wade Jacoby'sessaytakesa 'coalitionapproach' to theway thattransnationalactorsseektoexerttheir influence. Byputting their resources behind 'minority traditions' (domestic groupsthathavebeen 'losers'inpolicyareas), transnational actorsseekto levertheirresources and promotechange. Juliet Johnsonlooks at the politicsof adoptingthe Euro and the role ofcentral banksusinga two-track diffusion modelin whichbothpersuasion and materialcoercionmayoperatetogether on different groupsin different ways. Rachel Epstein'sessay on bank privatization focuseson the influence ofinternational organizations and how thisis contingent on theirability to mobilizedomesticreformers and theneed to builddomesticresonancefor their arguments. Aftertheseassessments of the variouspotentialmechanismsfortransnationalinfluence , thebook moveson to itssecondthemeoftheextentof suchinfluence in a diverse rangeofpolicyand issueareas. The attempts bytheCatholicChurchto advanceitsagendaare thefocus of TimothyByrnes'sessay.He findslimitedresultsand thatthe Church's efforts on someissuesbackfired: an exampleofunintended consequencesof transnational actors'influence. RobertHislope looksat transnational attempts to countercorruption in Macedoniaand arguesthatcorruption actually had a morepositive sidethan transnational actorsperceived interms ofwarding off ethnic strife. He argues thatcorruption could actuallybe a 'glue' holdingtogether an otherwise unstable society, and thattransnational influence was ineffective. Polishforeign policyis thesubjectofDavid Ost's essayand he finds that itsdevelopment involved theplaying off ofone transnational influence against another, namely thatoftheUS/NATO and theEU. UnliketheEU accession 'negotiations', therewas an opportunity forthe Polisheliteto exerciseits independence indeveloping a pro-USforeign policyand thisopportunity was taken, especially due tothefearthatEU policywasdominated byFranceand Germany. The lastessayis a realist critique byMichaelKennedyofthetransnational politicalliterature on military and energy security. He concludesthatstates are stillthedominantactorsas theyseekto protecttheirinterests. Middlerangetheories used in theexisting transnational influence literature maynot be adequate. Overallthisbookoffers a wide-ranging assessment ofboththemechanisms of transnational influence and the extentof thisinfluence in variousissue areas.It willbe useful to thosenewto thearea oftransnational influence as wellas offering detailedessaysforthoseinterested in certain specific areas.It istobe commended foritsbreadthofcoverageand willingness toencompass competing views. SussexEuropean Institute University ofSussex Peter Simmons ...