Aleksandra Komornicka1; 1 Maastricht University, Netherlands
Discussion
This paper investigates the role of business power in the dismantling and reforming of the European socialist regimes from the late 1960s until the 1990s. Under pressure from globalization many multinationals sought new markets and ventured eastward. While particular cases of such East-West economic contacts have received attention from historians, they have not yet been properly systematised or examined from a broader perspective. This paper fills this gap by applying theories of business international influence to the case of socialist Europe. Relying on existing literature on the topic, as well as research in companies, business associations, and Polish archives, the paper argues for the paramount importance of structural business power in the remaking of the European socialist regimes and in building the post–Cold War European order.
