The elections of 2000 reflected the profound disillusionment of the Romanian electorate with the performance of the centrist government of the past four years, rather than a turn away from democracy itself.
About the Author
Grigore Pop-Eleches, associate professor of politics and public and international affairs at Princeton University, is the author of From Economic Crisis to Reform: IMF Programs in Latin America and Eastern Europe (2009).
Recent studies suggest that civil society in the postcommunist countries is significantly weaker than in other types of democracies, old or new. Can this legacy of communism be overcome? If…
Read the full essay here. The recent history of Eastern Europe can best be understood as a transition to a new social contract between the postcommunist state that emerged from…