After a short period of euphoria, hopes that freedom and democracy would quickly triumph in the post-Soviet world were soon thwarted – and today, many countries in the region face particular challenges.

The book proposes a concrete vision on how Western and post-communist Europe may be able to create a sustainable pan-European common space.

At ZOiS, the author and two experts discuss some of these perspectives, which include a new agenda for pan-European political communication, new East-Central European regional security mechanisms, conflict-resolution, and anti-patronalist institutions.

Mikhail Minakov: Development and Dystopia. Studies in Post-Soviet Ukraine and Eastern Europe (ibidem Press 2018).

• Mikhail Minakov is currently a Principal Investigator on Ukraine at the Kennan Institute, DAAD visiting professor at the Europa-Universität Viadrina and editor-in-chief of Focus Ukraine, an online blog published by the Kennan Institute.
• Wilfried Jilge is a historian of Eastern Europe and expert on Ukraine. He is Research Associate at the "Center for Governance and Culture in Europe" of the University of St. Gallen.
• Prof. Dr. Gwendolyn Sasse is Director of the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS). Her research interests include post-communist transitions (with a particular focus on Ukraine), EU eastward enlargement and the Eastern Partnership.
• Moderation: Dr. Sabine von Löwis is a senior researcher at ZOiS.