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One Year Later: The Transformation of Eastern Europe
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17167 |
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CURRENT ISSUES
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12 / 1990 |
3,215 Words |
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Robert R. King
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Just one year ago, newspapers around the world were dominated by euphoric stories about the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. On incredible headline followed another - "Solidarity Overwhelms Polish Communists in Free Election!" "Soviets OK Noncommunist Prime Minister in Poland!" "Hungary Opens Borders - 15,000 East Germans Flee!" "Berlin Wall Tumbles!" "Palace Coup against Bulgarian Communist Leader!" "Velvet Revolution Topples Communist Regime in Czechoslovakia!" "Bloody Revolt in Romania-Ceausescu Executed!"
It is now just one year later. The tumult and the shouting have died, and world attention has shifted elsewhere. Instead of jostling for space on the perch overlooking the crumbling Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate or vying to interview leaders of the emerging democratic opposition in Budapest, world television cameras are competing to film Saddam Hussein in Baghdad and the American media are straining over nuances in the latest White House-Congress battle of the federal budget.
In Eastern Europe, the euphoria is over. The hard, cold consequences of political and economic change have set in. The heady, headline-dominating events of last year were only the beginning, and the tough choices that these countries are now making have enormous consequences for their future-and for the future of Europe as a whole.
From a distance, Eastern Europe sometimes appeared to be a uniform, gray communist monolith, but even at the apex of Stalinist conformity, there were significant divergences between its countries. And just as there were important variations in Eastern European communism, there are substantial differences in the varieties of postcommunism.
PROGRESS TOWARD DEMOCRACY AND PLURALISM
Last year's dramatic revolution was a repudiation of totalitarian, one-party communist rule and an enthusiastic embrace of democracy by Eastern Europe. While in some of these countries there had been some movement toward limited democracy (such as multiple party-approved candidates in parliamentary elections), democratic values and traditions were not part of the local tradition. Eastern Europe suffered four decades of authoritarian communist rule, but for the most part, even earlier, there was not a strong democratic tradition. Czechoslovakia, the principal exception, was a functioning democracy from its creation in 1918 to 1939 and again for three years in 1945 - 48. Although a few free elections occurred in some of the other countries during the decades between the two world wars, non-democratic governments and, later, fascist dictatorships were the rule. The peoples of Eastern Europe did not begin their political transformation with a strong democratic tradition.
Between the Polish elections of June 1989 and the Bulgarian elections in June 1990, all countries of Eastern Europe went to the polls. The elections were free and democratic, except in Romania. Voter participation was very high - 96 percent in Czechoslovakia, 93 percent in East Germany, 90 percent in Bulgaria, and 86 percent in Romania. It is noteworthy that in Hungary and Poland, the two countries where political changes were the furthest advanced, participation was the lowest - 65 percent and 62 percent during the first round of parliamentary elections.
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