The Porous Iron Curtain - Foreign Trade and Economic Development in Eastern Europe, 1945-1989

Eastern European countries share a lot of history with the West. Their economic development, however, could hardly be more different. Industrialisation reached these areas in the 20th century and was heavily impacted by the World Wars. At the same time, these countries turned towards a new organisational system of society, Socialism, that had a completely different understanding of economics. Despite its geographic proximity and importance in understanding 20th-century history, we know relatively little about economic policies in Socialist Europe. This is puzzling since it depicts the economic reality of around 40% of the European population and half of its landmass, making it an important study to understand how a significant portion of Europeans lived for over four decades. The gap also includes trade and trade policy, which is surprising given that balance of payments issues, of which foreign trade is a crucial part, were considered as a relevant problem. The project aims to bridge this gap by asking how foreign trade affect development and structural change in Cold War Eastern Europe. Using a range of primary and secondary sources, it discusses general trends in foreign trade during the period, the role of industrialisation policy and the political processes fostering connections to other countries within and outside the Socialist world.