"The European Union will be a much more diversified entity after the forthcoming eastward enlargement. This collection of essays seeks to examine the origin, nature, scale and implications of this divergence. How much divergence is likely to be imported by the Union and will it hamper the process of European integration? The book looks at differences and similarities in the fields of macro-economics, welfare systems, democracy, institutional infrastructure, civic orientations and popular culture. The book shows that the map of convergence and divergence in the future EU will be very complex and will not correspond exactly with the old East-West divide. The book shows, in particular, that certain types of divergence can be beneficial rather than merely detrimental to the process of European integration."--Jacket.