This recasting of modern European history offers new insights into the Visegrad Group's significant role in changing political mind-sets and refashioning the continent
Rick Fawn has written the first book-length account of the Visegrad Group of states, which consists of the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Poland, and Hungary. Named after Hungary's Visegrád Castle, the group's significance includes changing international perceptions of Central Europe since the fall of communism and securing membership in NATO and the European Community. It plays an ongoing role today in regional solidarity and politics within the European Union and NATO.
Castle on a Hill is built on years of uniquely obtained oral and written sources and on the author's sustained engagement in this region. Fawn examines Visegrad's origins and major accomplishments, and what makes it a unique regional organization. In addition to its positive contributions, Fawn identifies Visegrad's weaknesses, oversteps, and missteps, including its controversial propulsion to international fame for successfully derailing the European Union's plans to resettle non-Europeans during the 2015 "migrant crisis." This book also offers insights for the wider study of the phenomenon of regionalism in international relations.
Castle on a Hill shows how the Visegrad Group has changed Central Europe, largely for the better, and it will appeal to scholars and policymakers interested in international politics, European history, and the study of regions and regionalism in international relations.
Reviews
"This book's significant analysis of Central Europe's return to wider Europe peacefully—reinforced over post–Cold War decades by Visegrad's efforts—offers crucial insights into the heart of Europe about path-breaking triumphs amid continuing challenges."—Joshua Spero, professor of political science, Fitchburg State University, former strategist, Joint Chiefs of Staff (NATO Division)
"Rick Fawn's masterful analysis of the Visegrad Group enhances our understanding of a successful regional initiative that helped facilitate the entry of four Central European countries into NATO and the EU. Russia's war against Ukraine has challenged the coherence of the V4 Group, with divergent responses among the four governments. The outcome of the war will play a major role in determining the group's future."—Janusz Bugajski, Jamestown Foundation, author of Pivotal Poland: Europe's Rising Strategic Player
"Castle on a Hill recounts the history of the Visegrad Group—consisting of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland—from its inception in the wake of the collapse of the communist political order to the present. Based on research in multiple languages as well as on-site interviews with appropriate persons, this book makes a significant contribution to understanding not just the Visegrad Group as such but the entire Central European region in the years since 1989. Fawn's prose is elegant, his insights rich, and his arguments persuasive."—Sabrina P. Ramet, author, East Central Europe and Communism: Politics, Culture, and Society, 1943–1991
"Rick Fawn is one of those rare scholars who has the ability to transcend the conventional approach, and those who read Castle on a Hill will be richly rewarded. He uses history, personalities, and crises as building blocks in a work that weaves insights with inspiration. Fawn makes his points realistically and modestly, highlighting the interplay of domestic policy, political dissent, and international crises. Fawn's superb analysis also spotlights the potential for Visegrad to offer a laboratory for testing ideas that have implications far beyond the four members and the immediate region. That is a remarkable achievement and students, scholars, and policymakers should certainly pay attention to this splendid work."—Aurel Braun, professor of international relations and political science, University of Toronto, associate of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University
About the Author
Rick Fawn is a professor of international relations at the University of St. Andrews and the author or editor of several books, including The Czech Republic: A Nation of Velvet (2000) and International Organizations and Internal Conditionality: Making Norms Matter (2013).