<p>This article examines the long-term consequences of the development strategies adopted by post-socialist economies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), which are characterised by large-scale inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) and the significant involvement of foreign capital in transformational processes. It analyses how FDI has reshaped economic structures whilst creating a specific vulnerability pattern. Whilst supporting productivity growth, export expansion, and partial convergence, FDI has also deepened dependence on transnational corporations, external financing and international production networks. An analysis of the global financial crisis (2007–2009), the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020s geopolitical upheavals shows that these shocks exposed the sensitivity of CEE economies to shifts in external demand, capital flows and corporate strategies without fundamentally altering the underlying structure of dependence. The article concludes that these strategies combine persistent structural dependence with a notable capacity for adjustment and recovery.</p>