In this extremely readable survey, Jim Brown, a leading commentator on eastern Europe offers an original analysis of the politics of the region since the dramatic collapse of communism in 1989. The author argues that the region is going through a 'revolution' (rather than the more bland 'transition process') as all countries seek to introduce liberal democracies and market economies and simultaneously reassert national identities that have laid dormant during the 40 years of Soviet rule. In a series of country studies and analysis of key factors such as the economy, the role of nationalism and the changing international relations contextHopes and Shadows illustrates the scale and magnitude of the changes, the risks and the turbulence associated with political and economic reform. The book also includes a detailed analysis of the Yugoslavian tragedy providing one of the most authoritative short accounts available of Yugoslavia's descent into a barbarous civil war.