"I think Europe can very well do without Austria. We don't need it."
Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel

E U   C R I S I S:
Austricized!
Magali Perrault
The emergence of Austria's new government has provoked international condemnation. But Jörg Haider is a man with a clear ambition, and despite threats of sanctions and ostracism, it's hard to imagine who could prevent "the blue prince" from being crowned in Vienna.

K O S O V O:
The Lesson of Orahovac
Nataša Kandić
The Serbs who are struggling to survive in Orahovac make no secret of the fact that Serb forces committed crimes against Orahovac Albanians. Now, however, they live in fear for their own lives.

S L O V E N I A:
Ljubljana's Mr Boisterous
Samuel Willcocks
On 8 February, Slovenes honour the memory of Francè Prešeren, the outstanding Slovene literary figure of the 19th century.

I N T E R V I E W:
Triumphs and Trade-offs
Andreas Beckmann & Miroslav Kundrata
CER talks to Bill Moody, program officer for the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a US-based foundation that continues to be one of the most significant sources of funding for development of civil society in Central Europe.

C o n f e r e n c e    T a l k

This week's theme: Intellectuals in Central and Eastern Europe

BALKANS: Five Flavours of Brain Židas Daskalovski Some Balkan intellectuals now work exclusively for profit whilst others seek to attain a more elusive reward: political power. Intellectuals in the Balkans have had their difficulties coping with the democratisation process.

From the CER Archives: Book Review  -  13 December 1999   Seán Hanley Intellectuals and Politics in Central Europe. More Than Just Theory?  -  15 November 1999   Sam Vaknin Can socialist professors of economics teach capitalism? Intellectual Courtesans  -  15 November 1999   Saša Cvijetić The unbearable lightness of being an intellectual. Lucien Blaga  -  25 October 1999   Catherine Lovatt The philosopher's attempts to define notions of "Romanianness." The Victors' Feast  -  18 October 1999   Jan Čulík Historians celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. Czechs Avoid Reality  -  27 September 1999   Andrew Stroehlein Czech intellectuals fail to grasp post-Communism. Spa Snooze-fest  -  15 February 1999   Kazi Stastna Elitism and stagnation.

Kinoeye:

A Nation of Thieves
Andrew J Horton
Miloš Forman's New Wave classic Hoří, má panenko (The Firemen's Ball, 1967) is often interpreted as being a satire on the Communist system. In fact, the film is an even more incisive portrait of Czech attitudes in the post-Communist era.

Books and Literature

B O O K   R E V I E W:
Capitalism with a Comrade's Face
Michael Kopanic Jr
The general message of this book is quite clear: the post-Communist transition has led to corruption and inefficiencies primarily because of hold-overs from the past. This marvellous book explains why the post-Communist transition has been such a bumpy ride.

S U P P L E M E N T:
The CER Book Shop:
Books about Central and Eastern Europe
Have a look at CER's list of books on the region - all available from Amazon.com. The updated list is spread across several pages and contains many new offerings.

M   u   s   i   c

S U P P L E M E N T:
The CER Music Shop
In co-operation with Amazon.com, Central Europe Review offers you this on-line shopping supplement.

O n   D i s p l a y

EVENTS: Coming up in the UK Andrew J Horton Details of selected Central and East European cultural events in the UK over the next few weeks.	EVENTS: Coming up in the USA Karen M Laun Central and East European events in the United States in the coming weeks.
EVENTS: Poland Cultural Review Wojtek Kosc A look at the latest cultural events and culture news in Poland.