Explaining Economic Backwardness

"The author's chosen topic is important for several reasons. First, it is part of the international debate that has been going on for several decades over the specificity of Eastern Europe. Second, it provides the opportunity for an intriguing analysis of the polyphony of Polish historians. Third, this Warsaw sociologist's considerations show that in the face of ideological pressure and official censorship, Polish scholars actively participated in international debate and made original contributions toward explanations for what is identified in Sosnowska's title as Eastern Europe's 'backwardness'."—Rafał Stobiecki, Acta Poloniae Historica

"In an era when economic history is on an increasing scale dominated by cliometrics, Sosnowska's analysis is a powerful case for the merits of source-based longue durée research, grounded in rich theoretical discussions. It is a significant resource for scholars working on eastern Europe's economic and social history, and the author's insights on development and the deep roots of backwardness extend beyond the region and its relationship with the west."
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/slavic-review/article/abs/explaining-economic-backwardness-post1945-polish-historians-on-eastern-europe-by-anna-sosnowska-trans-jasper-tilbury-and-anna-sosnowska-budapest-central-european-university-press-2019-vi-366-pp-notes-bibliography-index-tables-9500-hard-bound/2196AA0424E0F68F97F9FBB260A8439E—Jerzy Łazor, Slavic Review

"The author presents the models of her team of historians and juxtaposes that against the concepts of modernization, convergence, dependency, and world-systems theories, as well as with Marxist historical materialism. To round out the impressive scope of the text, Sosnowska chronicles the historical schools established by the four scholars and covers a large breadth of their studies: from the Middle Ages to the early Modern Era to the nineteenth century."—Piotr J. Wróbel, Journal of Modern History