Eastern Europe has long been thought of as a marginalized region rife with political upheaval, shifting national borders, an astonishing variety of ethnic diversity, and relative isolation from the centers of power in the West. Yet in recent years, Eastern European nations have begun integrating with Western Europe—joining NATO and the European Union—as the region has gained a new measure of self-determination in the wake of communist collapse. In this series, we will explore the following questions:

• Who are the diverse ethnic groups that make up the region, and how have they cooperated and clashed?

• How and why have national borders shifted so frequently?

• What is the region’s relationship to Western Europe?

• How has the region been isolated from—and connected with—the West?