January 2006, Volume 17, Issue 1
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
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
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
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
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 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
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 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
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
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
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
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
A review of Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times: The Citizenry and the Breakdown of Democracy by Nancy Bermeo.
January 2004, Volume 15, Issue 1
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
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
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
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
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 2002 elections indicate the waning of nationalist authoritarianism and augur well for the consolidation of democracy.
January 2003, Volume 14, Issue 1
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
The Editors’ introduction to “Ten Years After the Soviet Breakup.”
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
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
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
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
The failures of post-Soviet reform notwithstanding, serious strides have been made toward economic and political transformation.
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
Ukraine has secured its independence, but remains troubled by slow growth, corruption, and an overly strong presidency.
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
A leading Russian oppositionist speaks out against continuing official assaults on self-government and human rights.
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
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
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
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
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
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
A nongovernmental organization, Citizens Organized to Monitor Voting (GONG), helped ensure the transparency of Croatia’s recent elections.
July 2000, Volume 11, Issue 3
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
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
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
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
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
Review of Democracy and Its Alternatives: Understanding Post-Communist Societies, by Richard Rose, William Mishler, and Christian Haerpfer.
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
Read the full essay here.
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
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January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
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January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
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January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
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January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
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January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
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July 1998, Volume 9, Issue 3
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July 1998, Volume 9, Issue 3
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July 1997, Volume 8, Issue 3
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October 1996, Volume 7, Issue 4
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January 1996, Volume 7, Issue 1
The Editors’ introduction to “Civil Society After Communism.”
January 1996, Volume 7, Issue 1
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January 1996, Volume 7, Issue 1
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January 1996, Volume 7, Issue 1
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October 1995, Volume 6, Issue 4
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July 1994, Volume 5, Issue 3
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January 1994, Volume 5, Issue 1
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January 1994, Volume 5, Issue 1
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October 1993, Volume 4, Issue 4
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October 1993, Volume 4, Issue 4
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July 1993, Volume 4, Issue 3
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July 1993, Volume 4, Issue 3
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January 1993, Volume 4, Issue 1
A review of The Final Revolution: The Resistance Church and the Collapse of Communism, by George Weigel.
October 1992, Volume 3, Issue 4
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.
April 1992, Volume 3, Issue 2
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