The „New Course” and its impacts in Central and Eastern Europe: The case of Hungary

Abstract

The death of Stalin on 5 March 1953 signified a watershed in international relations, which promoted to mitigate the tensions between the two main superpowers, the USA and the USSR. These events had repercussions in the Central and Eastern European countries. In the early 1950s, the economic policy based on forced industrialisation and the collectivization of agriculture clearly showed the deficiencies of the command economy. To avoid internal rebellion within the region, the new Soviet leadership decided to correct the mistakes made in economic policy.
The aim of the paper is to analyse the impacts of the „New Course” in Central and Eastern Europe based on a multi-disciplinary approach. It also gives an overview about the reforms of Imre Nagy during 1953–1955. Due to length constraints, the essay will not evaluate the foreign relations of each country, rather it focuses on the consequences of the “thaw” between 1953 and 1956.