The Spring of 1999 is the time when Hungary joins NATO. When a referendum was held about the expansion of NATO, it was also promised that this move would accelerate the Eastward enlargement of the EU too. Two renowned experts, Margit Racz and Tamas Csapody explain the dynamic of the double integration with some more realism.

In the contemporary world, the ideas, rights and ambitions represented by the legacy of enlightenment have been devalued. Restoring the respect of the public sphere and citizen rights requires the re-capturing of the public spaces that have been occupied by financial interest. (First published in Le Monde Diplomatique)

It has become a kind of commonplace that the neoliberal reforms in Russia have had a devastating impact on living standards. A recent chapter of the East European thriller tells us about the immorality of the shock therapists too. Anatoly Chubais, once finance minister and deputy prime minister of Russia, for instance, was involved in privatization deals that fall into the category of abuse of power. (First published in Socialist Economic Bulletin, UK.)

The well-known American political economist argues that the main cause of the so-called Russian crisis is the neoliberal shock therapy that has been pursued in Russia since the early 1990s. The IMF is directly responsible for the economic and social decline of the former Soviot republics. Instead of following the current Washington recipees, the policy of renewal should follow measures comparable to the original New Deal. (First published in Dollars and Sense, US.)

Mitbestimmung, or co-determination, was a major novelty of workplace democracy in post-war Germany. It used to be criticized for its function in eliminating class struggle and increasing the divisions within the working class. The new critics, however, come from the right, and intend to reform this mechanism for the purposes of neo-liberal streamlining.