Book excerpt: Science and technology in the former socialist Central and East European countries underwent a period of transformation in the last decade of the 20th century. With respect to the past, this represents the restructuring of the old system; with respect to the 21st century, however, it was the turbulent starting phase in the transition to new national innovation systems. Based on the authors' many years of research in this area the book analyses these processes in detail for 14 countries, reveals common features and differences in the transitional phase and inferres the prospects for the development of science and technology in Eastern Europe in the framework of EU enlargement.