Since its first appearance in 1993, Eastern Europe since 1945 has become an essential text for university students and others keen to understand the complex developments in the region over the last sixty years. This fourth edition has been fully revised, updated and expanded in order to incorporate new material and the events that have taken place since the publication of the previous edition.

Covering all the countries which comprise Eastern Europe, Geoffrey and Nigel Swain provide a clear account of:
* the origins of the socialist experiment
* the 1956 crisis of de-Stalinisation
* how society and economy operated between 1956 and 1989, the years of 'actually existing socialism'.
Drawing on what is now a perspective of twenty years, the authors identify trends in the transition from socialism to capitalism and explore the important role played by the prospect of EU membership in shaping the politics of what was once Eastern European capitalism. The new edition also features helpful suggestions for reading to aid further study.