New Perspectives Vol. 31(4): Communication and Power in Central and Eastern Europe

New Perspectives is pleased to host a special collection exploring some aspects of the interaction between communication and power in Central and Eastern Europe. Firstly, we have Flavia Durach, Alina Bargaoanu and Oana Ştefanița’s “Predictors of illiberalism in Romania: a case study during the Russian invasion in Ukraine”. This article explores the associations between various attitudes, news consumption habits, and perceived exposure to misinformation, and how these factors relate to levels of illiberalism in Romanian society, in the context of the War in Ukraine.

Next, we have Shane Markowitz’s article “Crowddoing and crowdfunding democracy: innovative strategies for countering foreign disinformation in Central and Eastern Europe”. This article examines how Central and Eastern Europe has become a ripe target for disinformation and malign narratives propagated by foreign actors, deploying false, incomplete, misleading information.

Finally, we have Mare Ushkovska’s essay “China’s Pandemic-Time Public Diplomacy in the Balkans and the Challenge to the EU’s Regional Leadership”. This essay explores how China’s assistance to countries in the Western Balkans during the pandemic boosted their reputation in the region, looking at the case studies of Serbia, Macedonia, and Albania.

The issue concludes with a forum discussion of Manuela Boatc˘a and Anca Parvulescu's elegant and important book Creolizing the Modern: Transylvania across Empires (2022).

The full issue is available as an open-access in the link below.