Joanna Wawrzyniak and Veronika Pehe – Neoliberalism, Eastern Europe and collective memory: Setting the framework

Abstract

The Introduction sets out the conceptual framework of the volume, which traces how neoliberalism became the legitimizing myth of the postsocialist transitions in Eastern Europe, and what counter-memories it provoked. The chapter argues for understanding the neoliberal turn as one of the most profound changes of the late twentieth century, with neoliberalism becoming instituted as both hegemonic economic ideology and social and cultural practice. These changes took a condensed form in Eastern Europe following the collapse of communism. The chapter and the volume enquire into how this process has been remembered.