The Sonderweg to a Historical Meso-Region
The Subdiscipline of East European History
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
East European History as a part of the larger field of history is a peculiarity of German-speaking Central Europe. It originated around the turn of the 20th century and was used by domestic politicians and diplomats as “enemy studies”. As it became a science, it developed the concept of “historical meso-regions” as an analytical framework for transnational comparative research. The end of the East-West conflict entailed the short term risk that the subdiscipline would lose its university pillar. Today, the discipline is stably anchored. It uses the new research opportunities that have arisen since 1989 and influences other disciplines and the public.
(Osteuropa 2-3/2013, pp. 55–80)