Editorial - Economy and Culture

Abstract

The studies presented in this volume of Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology came into being as a result of research within the project entitled Eastern Enlargement - Western Enlargement: Cultural Encounters in the European Economy and Society after the Accession, otherwise known as Project Dioscuri.

The Project was implemented within the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Commission, and was subcategorized among the Specific Targeted Research Projects (STREP), 7^th Priority: Citizens and Governance in a Knowledge-based Society. It lasted for three years, starting from June 1st 2004, and ending on May 31, 2007.

The objective of the project was to explore the dynamics of cultural exchange between “East” and “West” in the European economy and to assess its impact on social cohesion in and between the old and new member states of the European Economy. The project thus encompassed eight East European countries, four out of which had most recently entered the EU (Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia), and four which at the time remained outside (Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Serbia and Montenegro).

The project envisaged research of economic culture exchange in three fields, namely in entrepreneurship, governance (institution building and reform), and economic knowledge. Dioscuri resulted in a set of field reports, case studies and country studies as well as in comparative analyses. In addition, it provided policy recommendations for future rounds of EU enlargement on how to facilitate a mutually beneficial relationship between existing member states and new entrants.