In this article, I argue that critical junctures -- defined as sudden turning points in the historic trajectory of countries, institutions, and other units of analysis -- provide a propitious lens to teach the war in Ukraine. By analyzing the influence of this war on energy security in Europe and the world, its impact on public opinion on NATO…

In depth exploration of how the pandemic has reshaped the education ecosystem over the past three years, especially in the context of the surge in demand for online education courses and learning platforms, this article focuses on the field of student ideological and political education, and innovatively constructs a moral and political education…

This volume includes four sections of the 2023 NORDSCI international conference proceedings: (1) Business and Management; (2) Education and Educational Research; (3) Political Science; and (4) Sociology and Healthcare. Business and Management includes 6 papers covering business, including management and organizational studies, business law, and…

For some decades, students and scholars of Political Science have debated methodological differences, paradigmatic differences, and policy differences as they relate to curricula. Today, the real challenges facing the teaching of Political Science have less to do with content and much more to do with form and process. The next transformation in…

This annotated area guide presents a judicious evaluation of those writings which are particularly relevant to the contemporary political, socio-economic, and intellectual life of Southeastern Europe. It contains more than 3,000 bibliographic entries, together with additional citations for collateral reading. The entries include basic publications…

Four papers discuss research exchanges between the United States and the USSR and East Europe. The first paper considers the evolution of perceptions of social scientists in these countries during the Cold War and Detente. The dominant view of American researchers during the Cold War was that the United States, as the most modern society, was the…

Many educators in high schools and colleges have taught about European history and politics in the context of the Cold War and the division of Europe into two blocs. The revolutionary changes in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union have made obsolete the superpower spheres of influence that divided Europe. This curriculum project contributes…

Recommends that college teachers of comparative European politics attempt to broaden the geographic scope of the subject matter, integrate fact and theory, and make the course interesting and relevant to undergraduate students. (Author/DB)

Discusses the fall of communism in eastern Europe. Applies Latin America models to eastern Europe. Suggests that revolutions are shaped by the systems against which they are directed. Concludes that the problems of eastern Europe are not caused by the system so much as by geography. Argues that poor capitalism may lie in the future for eastern…

Asserts that increasing numbers of significant historical archives are being opened. Relates the story of historian Patricia Kennedy Grimsted who spent 30 years identifying the existence and history of national archives in the former Soviet Union and Eastern European nations. Maintains that her efforts have helped historians take advantage of…

Reports on a reading-discussion program of the Vermont Reading Project. Describes the origins, development, and operation of the program. Includes titles of literature works used in the project. (CFR)

Observes that teaching undergraduates about the post-1989 economic and political transitions in Central and Eastern Europe has received little attention. Identifies challenges and problems of teaching about post-communist transitions, particularly low awareness of the region's communist history. Reports on a module to teach about transition in…

Establishing constitutional government involves not simply the creation of a written document that purports to create the political structure of a nation and guarantee rights to its people, but "constitutionalism" in the sense of meaningful and effective adherence to constitutional norms of democratic organization and the protection of…

This guide was produced to provide K-12 teachers with basic materials on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, because U.S. textbooks frequently ignore this part of the world. These units about the Soviet Union include information on geography, education, lifestyles, government, the Communist Party, economics, and religion. Suggestions for…

Scholarship on Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union has been influenced by the cold-war model of persistent competition between two monolithic superpowers. With Eastern Europe in disarray, that model cannot hold up much longer. Marxist theory is now questioned. (MLW)