INTRODUCTION Berend, Ivan T
A Century of Populist Demagogues,
07/2020
Book Chapter
What are the main characteristics of demagoguery and demagogues? Everyone has, at least, some notion and sometimes even some personal experience to answer these questions. However, to give an exact ...definition is not very easy. To start the most simplistic way one can turn to dictionaries and encyclopedias to look for a concise definition. What can we find? They tell us that the origin of the term “demagogue” comes from the Greek demos agein (leader of people), but in modern times it has a much darker meaning, “leader of the mob.” The definitions contain that a demagogue is a political
Central and Eastern Europe, a periphery of the advanced western half of the continent experienced severe crises of failed or sputtering modernization attempts during the nineteenth and twentieth ...centuries. The agricultural and rural economy of the peasantry was preserved in this area until the mid-twentieth century. Relatively backward, the partially industrialized countries of the region could not respond positively to the challenge of repeated technological-industrial revolutions and structural crises in the late nineteenth century, and again in the interwar decades. They were unable to adjust to the requirements of the third and fourth technological-industrial revolutions of those periods. ...
Raises basic historical questions and debates, compares East European and American higher education systems, and presents an eyewitness' insights on life in the United States.
Professor Berend presents a comprehensive inside account of Hungary's economic reforms since the 1950s. Working from Communist Party archives, which have hitherto partially remained closed to ...scholars, Berend situates the history of these economic reforms within their political context, looking in particular at the role of the Soviet Union. He examines the theoretical background to reform, the obstacles that arose during implementation and the gradual realisation that minor reforms of the old system could no longer work. The Hungarian Economic Reforms 1953–1988 comes at a time when many centrally planned economies are examining their performance and structure and seeking suitable forms of change. The Hungarian reforms have attracted those countries wishing to rid themselves of their Stalinist command economies. Thus the book indirectly sheds light upon Chinese economic reforms and on Gorbachev's Soviet perestroika. It will be of interest to specialists and students of East European studies, with special reference to the EMEA, planned economies and economic reform.
A major new history of economic regimes and economic performance throughout the twentieth century. Ivan T. Berend looks at the historic development of the twentieth-century European economy, ...examining both its failures and its successes in responding to the challenges of this crisis-ridden and troubled but highly successful age. The book surveys the European economy's chronological development, the main factors of economic growth, and the various economic regimes that were invented and introduced in Europe during the twentieth century. Professor Berend shows how the vast disparity between the European regions that had characterized earlier periods gradually began to disappear during the course of the twentieth century as more and more countries reached a more or less similar level of economic development. This accessible book will be required reading for students in European economic history, economics, and modern European history.
The paper addresses some debated questions and popular misconceptions concerning Hungary’s transformation process. These debated questions include the historical role of the Hungarian market reforms ...and how they helped the country in rapid transition later on; the first years of transition and the dilemma of gradual vs. shock therapy type reforms; the role of multinational companies in the Hungarian economy; the economic crisis in Hungary of the past years (2006–2008); and finally, how Hungary should proceed with reforms in the future.
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