Verdery, an anthropologist and sociologist, was one of the first ‘western’ scholars to do work in the Eastern bloc. Her book considers the political and social transformations of 1989 in the region, with a specific focus on Romania. Her analysis of the post-communist situation considers the development of ‘civil society,’ the transition to a capitalist economy, restitution, ethnic conflict, and gender relations. In particular her discussion of the post-socialist nation-state is instructive See Chapter 1 What Was Socialism, and Why Did It Fall?, Chapter 5 Civil Society or Nation? ‘Europe’ in the Symbolism of Postsocialist Politics, and Chapter 8 A Transition from Socialism to Feudalism? Thoughts on the Postsocialist State.