REVIEWS 387 earliercritics fortwomainreasons.First, theanalysis focuses verymuchon elitepoliticsin Moscow whichinevitably places Gorbachevat thecentreof events.Undoubtedly, elitepoliticsis important, especially in a dictatorship, and ArchieBrownis at hisverybestin tracing thecomplexpowerrelations in theKremlinthroughout thisperiod,butdebatesin thepolitburo remain onlypartofthestory. The analysis wouldhavebenefited, on occasion,from closerscrutiny ofwhatwas actually happening on theground.In thechapter on theendoftheCold War,forinstance, Brownwrites thatGorbachevcame intooffice arguingforSovietwithdrawal fromAfghanistan. This mayhave been true,buthisfirst policydecisionon Afghanistan was to increaseSoviet troopnumbers withtheapparentintention oftrying to winthewar.Brown spendsa lotoftimedownplaying President Reagan's relative importance in thesamechapter, butWashington's decisionto support themujahideen was important inpreventing theSovietUnionfrom pacifying Afghanistan which, in turn, affected theoutcomeoftheCold War. Thisleadson to thesecondissue.Gorbachevcan claimveryrealachievementsduring histimein office, buthe neverseemedto be in quiteas much control ofevents as sometimes suggested here.Thingsrarely worked outquite as planned.Gorbachev wantedtoendtheCold War,buthe hopedthiswould lead to an increasein Sovietinfluence aroundtheworld,notprecipitate its decline.Gorbachevinitiatedimportant liberaland democraticreforms at home,as Brownrightly emphasizes, butthentheSovietleaderwas forced to watchon as theyled to politicalunrestand, ultimately, thecollapseofthe USSR whichhe had striven so hardtopreserve. Worstofall,from thepoint ofviewoftheordinary Russianpeople,Gorbachev's reforms led,nottoraised living standards as promised, buta downward spiralineconomicperformance from 1988.ArchieBrowndoestalkabouteconomicproblems, butforme the economy shouldhavebeengivenmoreprominence, foritwas thedeepening economiccrisis whichledtoa general lossoffaith inGorbachevas leaderand perestroika as a whole.Gorbachev'sfailure lookedall themorepronounced whencomparedto the recordlevelsof growth experienced in Communist China after Deng's economicreforms of1978. Asalways, ArchieBrownhasproducedan excellent book.Itiswell-written, and researched withmeticulous care. It is a fineadditionto the growing collectionof workson the periodwhichwill,likeitspredecessor, provoke muchdebateoverGorbachev'shistorical legacy. School ofPolitical, SocialandInternational Studies Mike Bowker University ofEast Anglia Kenney, Padraic. The Burdensof Freedom: EasternEuropesinceigSg. Global History ofthePresent. Zed Books,London and New York,2006. ix + 179pp. Maps. Notes.Index.£12.99(paperback). The recent2004-07 expansionoftheEuropeanUnion (EU) to includeten former Communist countries ofEasternEuroperepresents a good opportunityto assesstheextentand depthofpoliticaland economicchangesthat 388 SEER, 87, 2, APRIL 200g transformed theregion. Written from theperspective ofcontemporary history, TheBurdens ofFreedom isbotha succinct introduction and an insightful synthesisofpolitical development inEasternEuropesincetheendoftheCold War. Whatexactly, however, isEastern Europeandhowjustified isittotreat fifteen countries within a singleframework defined primarily bynominaladherence oftheirerstwhile leadersto Marxistideology? For Kenney,EasternEurope includes countries thatbrokeawayfrom theRussiansphereofinfluence and sharea commonforeign policygoal ofintegration intotheEU, an approach thatleaveshimwiththeBalticStatesand all thenon-Soviet post-Communist East Europeanstates.At thesame time,the 'impermanence oftheregion' (p. 161)iswellillustrated bythedesireofsomepost-Soviet states (e.g.Ukraine and Georgia)to seeksomeformofintegration withtheWest,as wellas by theinstability of stateslikeSerbia,Moldova and Bosniawhosegeopolitical identity can be unequivocally established onlyafter their territorial integrity is ensured. Examination ofethnic relations, dealingwiththepast,and socio-economic changesin EasternEuropeconstitute thecore ofthetextand thisis where the analysisis mostpersuasiveand illustrative of changesin the region. Kenneyshowshow nationalism, arguablythemostinfluential idea shaping political development in theregionsince1989,had been cultivated bymany nationalCommunist leadersto compensatefordecreasinglegitimacy and appeal oftheCommunist projectsin thelate 1980s.Hence, explanations of an upsurgeof ethnicnationalism withitsdramaticconsequencesespecially in theYugoslavwarsmustgo beyondsimplified accountsemphasizing the importance ofdistant pastand historical legaciesofethnic hatreds. The book nicelyshowsthecomplexities ofethnicrelations, and itsaccountofformer Yugoslavia,with all its tragicconsequences,is particularly illuminating. Nevertheless, whiletheauthorillustrates thattheboundaries between various ethno-national communities in former Yugoslaviahave been permeableand largely shaped(andconstructed) inthecourseofa violent conflict, he repeatedlycallstheethnic minorities inLatviaand Estonia'Russians',andthusdoes nottakeintoaccounttheheterogeneous character oftheseRussianspeaking populations. The past,orrather themultiple pasts,havebeenone ofthecentral themes of politicsin EasternEurope. Lustrations, or systematic vetting of public officials fortheiractiveinvolvement withtherepressive bodiesand Communistauthorities , have been the mostcommonpracticeof dealingwiththe Communistpast, and the lustration systems in countrieslike the Czech Republic,Polandand Hungaryare well-known and analysed.Yet,thepostconflict countries of former Yugoslaviaconfront an even more acute task offacingthefactofwar crimescommitted by theirnationals, a traumatic undertaking thatdoesnotendbyreleasing thetopwarcrimesuspects to the International Criminal Tribunalfortheformer Yugoslavia.In addition, comingtoterms withthepre-Communist past,especially withtheviolenceofthe majority populationsagainstvariousminorities duringthe Second World War or shortly afterwards, also remainsan unfinished and often painful and politically costly business. ForKenney,revisiting thepastisprimarily a means ofreconciliation, buthisbook givesseveralexamplesthatthepastis also a 'rawmaterial' processed bypolitical entrepreneurs ofall kinds. REVIEWS 389 Multiple pastsalsoexert multiple andconflicting claimsonprivate property confiscated during variousperiodsbefore the1989-91revolutionary changes, and itsrestitution is an issueat theintersection ofdealingwiththepastand economictransformation. Whiledifferent countries haveundertaken different strategies ofeconomicchangethatincluded privatization, property restitution and openingup theireconomiesto foreign investments, the authorrightly concludes thattheeconomictransformation oftheregionhasnotbeendominatedbyneo -liberal templates. Fewinhabitants oftheregion would,however, agreewithhisclaimthatthey 'wereprepared toaccepttheneo-liberal mantra thatprogress necessitated increasedinequality and declining services' (p.43). Quitethecontrary, as reluctance to undertake painful economicreforms and electoral lossesofliberaleconomicreform parties in manyEasternEuropean states illustrate. The central themes coveredbythebookarenaturally framed bytheinternationalenvironment and nationalpolitical contexts, and itisKenney'streatmentofthelatter thatis theleastconvincing...