His Excellency Martti Ahtisaari, Former President of Finland and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Charles King's new book Extreme Politics declares an end to the period of "post-communism," both as a period of European History and in terms of the conduct of US foreign policy. The book offers a critique of the way in which academics and policy makers have viewed this period, which began with the fall of the Berlin Wall on 11/9/1989 and ended with the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001. King argues that this period should be viewed as a unique interlude, rather than as a postscript to the Cold War.

Over the last 20 years, Bulgaria and Greece have pursued variable and divergent policies toward their Muslim minorities. During a brief period near the end of the Communist regime, Bulgaria forced Turks to assimilate. This policy was abandoned by the democratic government that took power in the 1990s. At the same time, Greece recognized its Muslim minority and facilitated the "Turkification" of its Muslim citizens throughout the 1980s, but then abandoned that policy by blocking minority rights in the 1990s. Harris Mylonas suggested that these policy shifts are commonly explained by assumptions or models that link minority treatment, regime type, ideology and leadership personalities. Rejecting these hypotheses, Mylonas argued that the structure of the international system was the most salient indicator influencing the treatment of Muslim minorities in both countries.

Although the postcommunist period brought an abrupt end to state policies that raised women's political and economic welfare, it also cleared the way for women to participate freely in democratic institutions and the market economy. Perhaps predictably, therefore, the impact that the postcommunist transition has had on women's welfare has also been mixed. Discussing the findings of her book, Katalin Fabian evaluated the gender regime and the growth of women's movements in postcommunist Hungary. She identified the interconnection between women's organizations, welfare policies and the impact that globalization has had on local activism.