There is now a Czech and a Slovak republic. The situation in Bosnia has become unspeakable, and the possibility of more of the same in Kosovo and Macedonia seems real. Nevertheless, at least some of the authors in this current issue find serious grounds for optimism. This issue was meant to consider the various ways in which we see each other's pasts and presents. For example, to what extent can the history of Western transitions to democracy inform the transitions now going on in Central and East Europe.
Similar questions arise about the creation of viable constitutions and viable economies.
These questions and others as well are discussed in the papers in this issue. Reading them should cause us to be more cautious in recommending our way as the right or only way to arrive at the desired goals which we share. I suspect that this may be the last of the issues in this series devoted entirely to East and Central Europe. This is so not because the problems of the region are any more likely to to evaporate than our own, or because there is not much more of interest that could be said. Rather it is because the rationale for these special issues is no longer so compelling.