A compelling argument has surfaced for a renewed vision concerning Central Europe’s economic future, advocating a strategic shift from its traditional ‘catch-up’ model. Silvia Uscov, a distinguished lawyer and president of the Sovereign Institute for Liberty and Justice, champions a “second wave of Americanisation.” This approach is not about cultural assimilation. Instead, it aims to rediscover the core principles that drove both America’s success and Central Europe’s initial post-communist transformation.
Thirty-five years ago, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) made a pivotal choice, aligning with the West. The 1989 revolutions sparked a shift beyond democracy and market economics. In essence, it initiated an ‘Americanisation’ rooted in the promise of possibility. America symbolized free enterprise, individual ambition, and the power of technology. It offered an intoxicating proposition: a future grander than the past, fostering optimism across the region.
CEE’s journey since 1989 has been remarkable. The region transitioned from dictatorship to democracy and from state ownership to private enterprise. It also moved from the Warsaw Pact to NATO, and from Comecon to the European Single Market. The World Bank even described European integration as a ‘convergence machine’ for the area. This transformation propelled millions into high-income living standards, even with challenges like uneven institutional development and corruption.
America played an indispensable role in this first wave of change. Its contributions were strategic through NATO enlargement and security. Economically, US investment and management expertise proved vital. Institutionally, America supported democracy and a new leadership class. Crucially, the cultural message from America – promoting building, competing, and legitimate ambition – encouraged an entrepreneurial spirit.
However, the initial CEE model, focused on cheap labour and attracting foreign capital, is now losing momentum. The World Bank warns of slowing productivity convergence and weakening progress in innovation. Therefore, the region cannot simply repeat its past strategies for the next three decades. Copying Western Europe, which is itself searching for new growth, seems short-sighted.
Transition 2.0, or this second ‘Americanisation’, calls for a deeper embrace of foundational economic values. It emphasizes markets, competition, private property, and technological leadership. Furthermore, it prioritizes capital formation and economic optimism. This represents an operating system for a truly confident free society, moving beyond simply learning capitalism to excelling at it.
The goal now shifts from merely catching up with Germany to becoming world-class in specific sectors. Romania could leverage its engineering and IT strengths for global businesses. Poland might aim for global champions, while Czechia develops advanced manufacturing. The Baltics, for instance, could become digital laboratories. This marks a transition from ‘catch-up capitalism’ to ‘frontier capitalism’.
Frontier capitalism needs dynamic capitalists. CEE successfully cultivated an entrepreneurial class after communism intentionally destroyed it. The region now boasts founders, family businesses, and significant private capital. This next phase demands more owners and deeper capital markets, where successful individuals reinvest. America’s comfort with ambition offers a valuable lesson.
This renewed relationship also presents a clear American stake. A stronger CEE provides a larger market for American technology and capital. It also strengthens Western supply chains and reinforces NATO’s eastern flank. Moreover, it creates partners who deeply understand the transatlantic bond’s value.
Unlike the asymmetrical 1990s, this new relationship can be reciprocal. Central Europe possesses valuable experience regarding Russia, energy vulnerability, and rebuilding institutions from scratch. The region needs a marketplace of ideas, connecting entrepreneurs, investors, and academics. This collaboration aims to rebuild confidence around a core belief: free societies thrive with competitive economies, and competitive economies require free people.
Such a transformation demands more than mere conferences; it requires permanent institutions. These bodies would study capitalism in the age of AI and reindustrialisation, rather than rehashing past models. CEE serves as an excellent laboratory for this undertaking. The purpose is not to make Central Europeans American. It is to recall the attractive qualities of America: confidence, possibility, scale, competition, and the dignity of individual ambition. This second wave of Americanisation can help CEE win the twenty-first century, becoming a successful graduate collaborating with America to renew the West together.
