The Democratisation of Eastern Europe 1989-2004. A closer look at how Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria have handled the challenges of economic development, good governance, nationalism and xenophobia

Abstract

In the period since the fall of communism in 1989-1991, Eastern Europe has gone through massive societal turmoil. This dissertation takes a closer look at how five East European countries, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria handled these challenges. More specifically, we see how they have handled challenges regarding economic development, good governance, nationalism and xenophobia while at the same time trying to build and consolidate democracy.

We found that the countries that dared to implement all the necessary economic changes to their full extent in order to create a market economy were rewarded; the process of democratic consolidation strengthened. Those countries that only initiated partial or piecemeal reform lagged behind. We have also concluded that nationalism has not been impediment to democratic development, while xenophobia seems to affect it negatively.

Concerning good governance, we found that both political actors and institutions of government have, in the eyes of our respondents, not delivered what was expected of them. The institutions have not earned the trust needed to create what we might call a positive feedback loop between governed and government. A closer look at one aspect of good governance, control of corruption, showed that corruption may be the greatest obstacle to progress in post-communist countries, since it undermines the creation of a democratic culture.

Finally, we found that those countries that on the eve of transition had either an authoritarian or a mature post-totalitarian regime have had less trouble achieving democratic consolidation. Although difficult to quantify, the legacy of former regimes seems to be the single most important factor in determining successful democratic consolidation among those factors we have been looking at.