January 2006, Volume 17, Issue 1
Stronger Legislatures, Stronger Democracies
Evidence from the postcommunist countries shows that the strength of the legislature may be the institutional key to democratic consolidation.
Region: Central and Eastern Europe
January 2006, Volume 17, Issue 1
Ballots, Bribes, and State Building in Bulgaria
The successful completion of yet another general election should dispel any residual doubts about Bulgarian democracy. But the election results made clear that the country now faces a new set of challenges.
January 2006, Volume 17, Issue 1
Postcommunist Central Banks: A Democratic Deficit?
Independent central banks throughout the former Soviet Union suffer from a dual democratic deficit. How can they gain greater democratic legitimacy without compromising their countries' economic health?
October 2005, Volume 16, Issue 4
Preempting Democracy: The Case of Belarus
Having drawn lessons from the downfall of some of his fellow autocrats, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is preventing the emergence of an effective democratic movement in Belarus.
July 2005, Volume 16, Issue 3
Transitions from Postcommunism
What made the “color revolutions” of the early 2000s possible? There were 7 factors that allowed for these democratic breakthroughs. Today, Venezuela has 6 of them, and it may soon have the last one it needs.
July 2005, Volume 16, Issue 3
A Fresh Look at Semipresidentialism: The Russian Predicament
At the end of the Cold War, semipresidentialism became the modal constitution of the postcommunist world. In Russia and other post-Soviet states, however, this system of government has impeded consolidation.
April 2005, Volume 16, Issue 2
Ukraine’s Orange Revolution: The Opposition’s Road to Success
Ukraine's opposition had been trying to oust President Leonid Kuchma's semi-authoritarian regime since its alleged involvement in the murder of journalist Georgi Gongadze in 2000. What brought success in 2004?
April 2005, Volume 16, Issue 2
Ukraine’s Orange Revolution: Kuchma’s Failed Authoritarianism
Desperate to secure victory for its own candidate in the 2004 presidential election, the incumbent regime undertook an unprecedented campaign of blatant election fraud. But it had underestimated the citizenry that it was trying to deceive.
April 2005, Volume 16, Issue 2
The End of Postcommunism in Romania
The 2004 elections saw the defeat of the former communists who ruled Romania for most of the period since the fall of communism. Will the country's new, democratic, and pro-European government be able to break with the semi-authoritarian habits of its postcommunist predecessors?
January 2005, Volume 16, Issue 1
Building Democracy After Conflict: The ‘Helsinki Moment’ in Southeastern Europe
Why has the European Union, which has been so successful in transforming its candidate countries, failed in its efforts to promote democracy and development in Bosnia and Kosovo?
July 2004, Volume 15, Issue 3
Russian Democracy in Eclipse: What the Elections Tell Us
President Vladimir Putin's lopsided election victory was assisted by an unlevel electoral playing field, but elections still matter in Russia and they will make more difficult the consolidation of authoritarianism.
July 2004, Volume 15, Issue 3
Russian Democracy in Eclipse: The Liberal Debacle
Russia's liberal-democratic parties have failed. It is time for a new movement that can gain the trust of the Russian people by putting forward a full reform program based on liberal and democratic principles.
July 2004, Volume 15, Issue 3
Russian Democracy in Eclipse: The Next Generation
Hopes for democratization now rest on the shoulders of the young. Who are they, what do they believe, and what are their political leanings? Survey data offer some clues.
July 2004, Volume 15, Issue 3
What Makes Democracies Collapse?
A review of Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times: The Citizenry and the Breakdown of Democracy by Nancy Bermeo.
January 2004, Volume 15, Issue 1
Europe Moves Eastward: NATO’s Peaceful Advance
One of the most important events in post-Cold War international affairs, NATO enlargement is even more of a democratic milestone for the countries of Eastern Europe than is the expansion of the EU.
January 2004, Volume 15, Issue 1
Europe Moves Eastward: Concluding Reflections
The fall of the Berlin Wall gave East Europeans a euphoric sense that they were about to give European democacy a new direction. But as many of their countries prepare to join the EU, little has worked out as expected in those heady days.
October 2003, Volume 14, Issue 4
What Europe Means for Poland
The famed former dissident reflects on the lessons learned from Poland’s transformation, the anxieties that continue to beset his country, and the hopes and fears that attend its return to Europe.
July 2003, Volume 14, Issue 3
Lessons from Bosnia and Herzegovinia: The Limits of Electoral Engineering
This troubled corner of Europe has become a test of the ability of outside experts and carefully designed institutions to overcome a legacy of intense ethnocommunal conflict. How are they faring?
April 2003, Volume 14, Issue 2
The Czech Republic’s First Decade
Invited to join the European Union next year, the Czech Republic has a weak governing coalition that faces deep challenges at home.
April 2003, Volume 14, Issue 2
Slovakia’s Second Transition
Slovakia’s 2002 elections indicate the waning of nationalist authoritarianism and augur well for the consolidation of democracy.
January 2003, Volume 14, Issue 1
Montenegro: The Dilemmas of a Small Republic
October 2002 brought the latest in a series of “critical” elections that have helped to point the way to an independent, more democratic future.
October 2002, Volume 13, Issue 4
Pluralism by Default in Moldova
During the 1990s, politics in the small post-Soviet state of Moldova was more competitive than anyone would have expected. Yet there was less to this surprising pluralism than met the eye.
October 2002, Volume 13, Issue 4
Dark Days in Belarus
Why did Belarusians return dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka to power in September 2001? Could a better-managed opposition campaign have made a difference?
October 2002, Volume 13, Issue 4
Post-Election Blues in Ukraine
In March 2002, three-fifths of Ukraine’s voters chose a party or coalition opposed to the overbearing presidential apparatus of Leonid Kuchma, but the antipresidential forces found themselves frozen out in the new parliament.
April 2002, Volume 13, Issue 2
Bulgaria’s Royal Elections
Last year, Bulgarians elected their newly returned former king as prime minister and then, in a shocking upset, ousted their incumbent president. What do these results portend for the future of Bulgarian democracy?
January 2002, Volume 13, Issue 1
Slovenia’s Smooth Transition
The story of this small former Yugoslav republic offers an example of how—if circumstances are right—it may be possible for a country to reform its way out of communism and into parliamentary democracy and a market economy.
January 2002, Volume 13, Issue 1
The Weakness of Postcommunist Civil Society
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 not, what are the implications for democracy?
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
Ten Years After the Soviet Breakup
The Editors’ introduction to “Ten Years After the Soviet Breakup.”
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
Ten Years After the Soviet Breakup: The Primacy of History and Culture
The 15 states of the former Soviet fall into three broad categories, largely defined by fault lines of history and culture.
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
Ten Years After the Soviet Breakup: The Impact of Nationalism
To grasp what is happening in the former USSR, we must examine the types of nationalism that flourish there.
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
Ten Years After the Soviet Breakup: From Democratization to Guided Democracy
Except for the Baltic states, the countries of the former Soviet Union may be less democratic today than in the last years of the USSR.
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
Ten Years After the Soviet Breakup: The Advantages of Radical Reform
The failures of post-Soviet reform notwithstanding, serious strides have been made toward economic and political transformation.
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
Ten Years After the Soviet Breakup: Sovereignty and Uncertainty in Ukraine
Ukraine has secured its independence, but remains troubled by slow growth, corruption, and an overly strong presidency.
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
Ten Years After the Soviet Breakup: Going Backwards
A leading Russian oppositionist speaks out against continuing official assaults on self-government and human rights.
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
Ten Years After the Soviet Breakup: A Mixed Record, An Uncertain Future
Despite huge changes, the events of the last ten years raise doubts about the notion of “democratic transition” itself.
July 2001, Volume 12, Issue 3
History and Memory: The Revolutions of 1989-91
There has been surprisingly little celebration of the tenth anniversary of the revolutions that brought down communism. The exaggerated hopes of the time have given way to disillusionment, but the real achievements of many of the postcommunist countries should not be discounted.
July 2001, Volume 12, Issue 3
Serbia’s Prudent Revolution
A bloodless revolution toppled the corruption-ridden 13-year-old regime of Slobodan Milosevic and brought to power a team led by committed democrats. Although strains exist within the new 18-party ruling coalition, there are strong reasons for it to hold together during the current period of transition.
July 2001, Volume 12, Issue 3
Romania’s Politics of Dejection
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.
January 2001, Volume 12, Issue 1
How People View Democracy: A Diverging Europe
Citizens of postcommunist countries not only want to be free to say what they think and to vote their conscience; they also want a government that obeys the rules it lays down and is not steeped in corruption.
October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4
Monitoring the Vote in Croatia
A nongovernmental organization, Citizens Organized to Monitor Voting (GONG), helped ensure the transparency of Croatia’s recent elections.
July 2000, Volume 11, Issue 3
Russia Under Putin: The Feudal Analogy
The analogy with feudalism helps us understand the baffling changes that unexpectedly appeared during the transition away from communist rule.
July 2000, Volume 11, Issue 3
Russia Under Putin: Can Electoral Autocracy Survive?
Vladimir Putin soon must make a fundamental choice: whether to hold on to monolithic power or to adopt a reformist course that could leave him at the center of a battle without any guarantee of success.
July 2000, Volume 11, Issue 3
Russia Under Putin: Reintegrating “Post-Soviet Space”
The debate over Russia’s likely course of development under Putin has paid surprisingly little attention to his openly stated goal of reintegrating Russia with other former Soviet republics.
April 2000, Volume 11, Issue 2
Eastern Europe: The International Context
Nowhere else has the impact of international factors on democratization been as apparent as in Central and Eastern Europe. Integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures is one particularly strong democratizing force.
April 2000, Volume 11, Issue 2
Women in East European Parliaments
A major question in the consolidation of Eastern Europe’s new democracies is whether women will participate fully in the political process. One key indicator is the representation of women in the region’s parliaments.
July 1999, Volume 10, Issue 3
The Churchill Hypothesis
Review of Democracy and Its Alternatives: Understanding Post-Communist Societies, by Richard Rose, William Mishler, and Christian Haerpfer.
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
Eastern Europe a Decade Later: Another Great Transformation
Read the full essay here.
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
Eastern Europe a Decade Later: The Postcommunist Divide
Read the full essay here.
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
Eastern Europe a Decade Later: Victory Defeated
Read the full essay here.
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
Eastern Europe a Decade Later: Reassessing the Revolutions of 1989
Read the full essay here.
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
Eastern Europe a Decade Later: Geography and Democratic Destiny
Read the full essay here.
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
Eastern Europe a Decade Later: Slovakia’s Democratic Awakening
Read the full essay here.
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
Eastern Europe a Decade Later: A New Phase in Czech Politics
Read the full essay here.
July 1998, Volume 9, Issue 3
Orphans of Transition: Gypsies in Eastern Europe
Read the full essay here.
July 1998, Volume 9, Issue 3
Teaching Democracy in Postcommunist Countries
Read the full essay here.
July 1997, Volume 8, Issue 3
Public Opinion in New Democracies: Where Are Postcommunist Countries Going?
Read the full essay here.
October 1996, Volume 7, Issue 4
How Different Are the Postcommunist Transitions?
Read the full essay here.
January 1996, Volume 7, Issue 1
Civil Society After Communism
The Editors’ introduction to “Civil Society After Communism.”
January 1996, Volume 7, Issue 1
Civil Society After Communism: Rival Visions*
Read the full essay here.
January 1996, Volume 7, Issue 1
Civil Society After Communism: From Opposition to Atomization
Read the full essay here.
January 1996, Volume 7, Issue 1
The Question of Citizenship in the Baltics
Read the full essay here.
October 1995, Volume 6, Issue 4
Armed Forces and Democracy: The Postcommunist Wars
Read the full essay here.
July 1994, Volume 5, Issue 3
Rethinking Civil Society: Postcommunism and the Problem of Trust
Read the full essay here.
January 1994, Volume 5, Issue 1
A Communist Comeback? The Dissolution of Solidarity
Read the full essay here.
January 1994, Volume 5, Issue 1
A Communist Comeback? Poland’s Longing for Paternalism
Read the full essay here.
October 1993, Volume 4, Issue 4
The Challenge of Ethnic Conflict: The Fate of Minorities in Eastern Europe
Read the full essay here.
October 1993, Volume 4, Issue 4
The Challenge of Ethnic Conflict: The Cruel Face of Nationalism
Read the full essay here.
July 1993, Volume 4, Issue 3
Politics After Communism: A Horizon of Hope and Fear
Read the full essay here.
July 1993, Volume 4, Issue 3
Politics After Communism: Ukraine—A View from Within
Read the full essay here.
January 1993, Volume 4, Issue 1
God and the Death of Communism
A review of The Final Revolution: The Resistance Church and the Collapse of Communism, by George Weigel.
October 1992, Volume 3, Issue 4
Eastern Europe After Communism
A review of After the Fall: The Pursuit of Democracy in Central Europe, by Jeffery Goldfarb and Reinventing Politics: Eastern Europe from Stalin to Havel, by Vladimir Tismaneanu.