Development in Turbulent Times: The Many Faces of Inequality Within Europe

This open access book explores the most recent trends in the EU in terms of development, progress, and performance. Ten years after the 2008 economic crisis, and amidst a digital revolution that is intensifying the development race, the European Union, and especially Central and Eastern Europe, are ardently searching for their development priorities.

Against this background, by relying on a cross-national perspective, the authors reflect upon the developmental challenges of the moment, such as sustainable development, reducing inequality, ensuring social cohesion, and driving the digital revolution. They particularly focus on the relation between the less-developed Eastern part of the EU and its more developed Western counterpart, and discuss the consequences of this development gap in detail.

Lastly, the book presents a range of case studies from different areas of governance, such as economy and commerce, health services, education, migration and public opinion in order to investigate the trends most likely to impact the European Union's medium and long-term development.

Paul Dobrescu, PhD, is the founder of the College of Communication and Public Relations at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest, Romania. From 2008 to 2012, he acted as the Rector of the University. During his long and productive academic career, he published numerous books and articles, and coordinated the academic and research activities of the Faculty of Communication and Public Relations. His research interests include globalization and development studies, as well as geopolitics. Dobrescu's books have been translated and published by prestigious international publishing houses, and include The Century of the Emerging World: Development with a Vengeance (Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2017), Les Crises Post-crise: Un Monde Sans Boussole Ni Hégémonie (L'Harmattan 2017), La Ruse de la Mondialisation: L'assault Contre la Puissance Américaine (L'Harmattan 2015). Currently, he is the research coordinator of the EU-funded project State of the Nation: Designing an Innovative Instrument for Supporting Public Policies in Romania.