Ex post it is evident: Soviet-style state socialism has failed as a political-economic system. But while it was happening, it was anything but clear. The reasons and consequences of the failure are dealt with in the new anthology by Mod-Block-DDR. It summarises the results of the first funding phase and brings the project to a for the time at hand successful finish.

The authors and invited experts met in Berlin on 16 March 2023 to discuss the synthesis and articles. Because of their inspiring and critical comments, we would like to thank the dedicated reviewers: Rainer Karlsch, Florian Peters, Robert Geisler, Uwe Müller and Korneliusz Pylak!

After incorporating the enriching input, we can look forward to the forthcoming product "Roadblocks to the Socialist Modernisation Path and Transition. Evidence from East Germany and Poland".