Assess students' ability to analyze how institutional legacies and economic policy choices shaped divergent economic and political outcomes across Eastern European post‑communist transitions (1990–2010). Test comparative evaluation of privatization approaches, stabilization strategies (shock therapy vs gradualism), fiscal/monetary reforms, rule‑of‑law and administrative inheritances, and the role of external actors (IMF, EU); require evidence‑based arguments linking institutions, policies, and outcomes such as growth, inequality, and democratic consolidation.