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Aftershock: A Journey into Eastern Europe’s Broken Dreams
In this unique and poignant account of faded dreams, journalist John Feffer returns to Eastern Europe a quarter of a century after the fall of communism. There Feffer tracks down hundreds of people he had interviewed for his earlier book, Shock Waves, decades before as the Iron Curtain fell. From politicians and scholars to trade unionists and grassroots activists, Feffer finds a common story of optimism dashed. These testimonies that he compiles in Aftershock make for fascinating, if sometimes disturbing, reading because they are at once very real and very timely.
Among many remarkable characters, Feffer introduces us to a Polish scholar who left academia to become head of personnel at Ikea and a Hungarian politician who turned his back on liberal politics to join the far-right Jobbik party. Feffer finds that years of free-market reforms have failed to deliver prosperity, while corruption and organized crime are rampant, and optimism has given way to bitterness and a newly invigorated nationalism. Yet, through in-depth interviews with the region’s many extraordinary activists, Feffer shows that despite these stiff odds, hope for the region’s future remains alive in many.
Among many remarkable characters, Feffer introduces us to a Polish scholar who left academia to become head of personnel at Ikea and a Hungarian politician who turned his back on liberal politics to join the far-right Jobbik party. Feffer finds that years of free-market reforms have failed to deliver prosperity, while corruption and organized crime are rampant, and optimism has given way to bitterness and a newly invigorated nationalism. Yet, through in-depth interviews with the region’s many extraordinary activists, Feffer shows that despite these stiff odds, hope for the region’s future remains alive in many.
598 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2017
9 people are currently reading
207 people want to read
About the author
John Feffer
26 books43 followersJohn Feffer is director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. He is the author of several books, including The Pandemic Pivot and the Splinterlands trilogy. His essays have been published in the New York Times, The Boston Globe, and elsewhere. He had been interviewed by CNN, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, Democracy Now! and other international news media.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 25, 2018
Absolutely brilliant if you know nothing, to a minimal amount, about the economic and social situations of the various nations commonly allocated within the term ‘eastern Europe’. Minimalistic and almost biased if you live in Eastern Europe or have experienced the ‘transition’, as commonly put in the book, away from Communism.
To expand on this negative aspect of the book, the author, an American who has only visited the region on occasion, suffers from a slight bias; in which he he perceives liberalism as the only possible driving force of progress and any counter populist movements as bursts of ‘insanity’. He seems to split populism/the right wing and Western orientated political movements as being either illiberal or liberal, which in geopolitics is a extremely simplistic approach to ideology which doesn’t serve justice to either the intended Western readers or the reality of East European politics.
A small annoying nibble of note is his attributing of communist Moscow rule as having positive economic effects, something which is only slightly backed by Yugoslav GDP statistics he puts out.
This isn’t to say the book is bad, in fact it shines light on many social & economic issues of the region, takes a very personal and human orientated approach towards his writing while also giving a factual analysis. If you are interested, particularly if you lack experience, in Eastern Europe I recommend it due to its down to earth overview and style of writing.
To expand on this negative aspect of the book, the author, an American who has only visited the region on occasion, suffers from a slight bias; in which he he perceives liberalism as the only possible driving force of progress and any counter populist movements as bursts of ‘insanity’. He seems to split populism/the right wing and Western orientated political movements as being either illiberal or liberal, which in geopolitics is a extremely simplistic approach to ideology which doesn’t serve justice to either the intended Western readers or the reality of East European politics.
A small annoying nibble of note is his attributing of communist Moscow rule as having positive economic effects, something which is only slightly backed by Yugoslav GDP statistics he puts out.
This isn’t to say the book is bad, in fact it shines light on many social & economic issues of the region, takes a very personal and human orientated approach towards his writing while also giving a factual analysis. If you are interested, particularly if you lack experience, in Eastern Europe I recommend it due to its down to earth overview and style of writing.
July 29, 2024
Learnt some things
April 15, 2019
Journalist John Feffer returns to his east European stamping grounds for an update on the people he encountered during those heady days at the close of the 20th century, to explain the less-than-glowing realities of the 21st. He offers a depressing panorama of failed visions, corruption, and impoverishment that’s made “capitalist democracy” a curse and inspired nostalgia for a lost security: much like adolescents who once rebelled against stern father figures, east Europe’s middle-aged once-hopefuls are wiser, sad for the lost security of “home,” and maybe feel the old man wasn’t such an idiot after all.
Of course it’s not all bad. East Europe would still be preferable to most of the Middle East, and compares well with Latin America (with the latter still not “getting it right” after 200 years.) The portrait he paints has been well-drawn before in its various pieces. Here Feffer has assembled these in one large tome. Although it seems to flit from one country to the next, he unifies his subject matter well despite his subjects’ differences in language, culture, and in their former communism.
A few points seem to escape scrutiny, though. Rarely does he talk with the ordinary people of the region, or with “former communists.” His focus is on the once-young dissidents and what they’ve made of their opportunities after ’89. That they’ve largely abandoned former ideals in favor of personal power and profit shouldn’t come as a great (after)shock: one need only recall that they had a rather elite status to begin with. Personal opportunism was the real fuel of their rise; “democracy” and “human rights” and “Europe” were catch-phrases that even then were used as links to Western money and connections, set aside once serving their purpose.
Nor is this really new. These same countries experienced it all before after WW I, when new democratic regimes emerged after the collapse of old empires. Early liberal constitutionalism fell before demagogues and depression; authoritarians, anti-Semites, and uber-nationalists became the norm by the mid-thirties. Germany in 1933 was part of the same trend: Hitler gave them their “voice” and paved the way for the Axis. The illiberal Hungary and Poland of 1938 are so much the same in 2018 that a time traveler could believe the region had stood still for 80 years.
Feffer spends much time on Yugoslavia, and deservedly so. One thing that struck me is how the “FY” experienced liberalization first, although in contained form; then erupted into nationalism. Yugoslavia presaged the rest of the region by a decade. Hungary, Poland, Romania have all followed the same Yugoslav path of liberalization followed by demagogic nationalism and religious passion. Does that mean the EU is fated to fragment as the former Yugoslav Federation? Maybe not so violently, though NATO would hardly countenance the EU’s dissolution any more than the old Yugoslav Federal Army stood by to watch its power base pulled from beneath its boots.
Despite the belief of many Americans, which Feffer seems to share, the communist period was not a "glacis" but actually pretty contentious between 1945 and the mid-70s, when the older generation lost its spark. But worth a read to those interested in the region; especially necessary to Americans, who still cling to the happy ending fairy tale of “the fall of the Wall” when they “won the cold war.” Upon whom the wall fell is another story, and Feffer for the most part does that underside justice.
Of course it’s not all bad. East Europe would still be preferable to most of the Middle East, and compares well with Latin America (with the latter still not “getting it right” after 200 years.) The portrait he paints has been well-drawn before in its various pieces. Here Feffer has assembled these in one large tome. Although it seems to flit from one country to the next, he unifies his subject matter well despite his subjects’ differences in language, culture, and in their former communism.
A few points seem to escape scrutiny, though. Rarely does he talk with the ordinary people of the region, or with “former communists.” His focus is on the once-young dissidents and what they’ve made of their opportunities after ’89. That they’ve largely abandoned former ideals in favor of personal power and profit shouldn’t come as a great (after)shock: one need only recall that they had a rather elite status to begin with. Personal opportunism was the real fuel of their rise; “democracy” and “human rights” and “Europe” were catch-phrases that even then were used as links to Western money and connections, set aside once serving their purpose.
Nor is this really new. These same countries experienced it all before after WW I, when new democratic regimes emerged after the collapse of old empires. Early liberal constitutionalism fell before demagogues and depression; authoritarians, anti-Semites, and uber-nationalists became the norm by the mid-thirties. Germany in 1933 was part of the same trend: Hitler gave them their “voice” and paved the way for the Axis. The illiberal Hungary and Poland of 1938 are so much the same in 2018 that a time traveler could believe the region had stood still for 80 years.
Feffer spends much time on Yugoslavia, and deservedly so. One thing that struck me is how the “FY” experienced liberalization first, although in contained form; then erupted into nationalism. Yugoslavia presaged the rest of the region by a decade. Hungary, Poland, Romania have all followed the same Yugoslav path of liberalization followed by demagogic nationalism and religious passion. Does that mean the EU is fated to fragment as the former Yugoslav Federation? Maybe not so violently, though NATO would hardly countenance the EU’s dissolution any more than the old Yugoslav Federal Army stood by to watch its power base pulled from beneath its boots.
Despite the belief of many Americans, which Feffer seems to share, the communist period was not a "glacis" but actually pretty contentious between 1945 and the mid-70s, when the older generation lost its spark. But worth a read to those interested in the region; especially necessary to Americans, who still cling to the happy ending fairy tale of “the fall of the Wall” when they “won the cold war.” Upon whom the wall fell is another story, and Feffer for the most part does that underside justice.
November 4, 2018
Highly recommend reading this book not just for those who are interested in recent European history, but for those that are following the current political, populist and nationalistic developments that are similarly impacting established democracies around the world. This book is an eerie depiction of what happened in Eastern Europe, but in reading it you realize - take out the names of the specific countries and leaders, and you could be speaking of a country outside this sphere entirely.
The book is well-written for laymen who have limited knowledge of Eastern European history in general, and is very thoughtfully laid out. The author so clearly shows that each country in the region is unique, had a different set of challenges, and followed their own paths. However, the challenge with the book, and it is well worth hanging on and plowing through it, is that after a certain point each country's storylines did get very confusingly jumbled together and harder to follow.
The book is well-written for laymen who have limited knowledge of Eastern European history in general, and is very thoughtfully laid out. The author so clearly shows that each country in the region is unique, had a different set of challenges, and followed their own paths. However, the challenge with the book, and it is well worth hanging on and plowing through it, is that after a certain point each country's storylines did get very confusingly jumbled together and harder to follow.
September 21, 2021
This book is depicts Eastern Europe as the canary in the coal mine. A shift is happening, not only in Eastern Europe, but worldwide: the rise if 'illiberalism', where civil liberties are not that interesting, where the rule of law is just a means to and end, and where religious and national identities are used and misused to manipulate. Defeated? No. But on the question how to "stand up and leap into action" the book only offers some kind of prophetic solace. In summary, a great read to help understand our turbulent times, but also a read that trembles in fear (without saying it) of what could happen if we do not heed the warning signals.
June 4, 2021
really interesting introduction to eastern europe post-1989 and a good overview of the losses and achievements the people there have seen. definitely not overly academic or in-depth, but as long as you’re not already well versed in this area in this era then there’s lots to learn. the interviews are definitely the strongest parts and the most interesting to read.
October 4, 2020
A very good book that paints a rather pessimistic of the future of Europe and the world with the rise of illiberalism and neo-conservatism. As we approach the US election in four weeks, it would be nice to see these trends start to reverse.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews