The last quarter of the twentieth century was marked by two dramatic political trends that altered many of the world's regimes: the global resurgence of democracy and the collapse of communism. Was the process that brought down communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union fundamentally different from the process that gave birth to new democracies in other regions of the world? Were the transitions away from communism mostly like or mostly unlike the transitions away from authoritarianism that took place elsewhere? Is the challenge of building and consolidating democracy under postcommunist conditions unique, or can one apply lessons learned from other new democracies? The essays collected in this volume explore these questions, while tracing how the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union have fared in the decade following the fall of communism.Contributors: Anders Aslund, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C.; Leszek Balcerowicz, Warsaw School of Economics; Archie Brown, Oxford University and St. Antony's College; Zbigniew Brzezinski, Johns Hopkins University, a former U.S. national security advisor; Valerie Bunce, Cornell University; Nadia Diuk, National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, D.C.; M. Steven Fish, University of California, Berkeley; Charles H. Fairbanks Jr., the Johns Hopkins University; Bronislaw Geremek, former foreign minister of Poland; John Higley, University of Texas at Austin; Judith Kullberg, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Mart Laar, prime minister of Estonia; Michael McFaul, Stanford University; Ghia Nodia, Tbilisi State University; Jan Pakulski, University of Tasmania in Australia; Richard Rose, University of Strathclyde in Glasgow; Jacques Rupnik, College of Europe in Bruges; Lilia Shevtsova, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C.; Aleksander Smolar, Stefan Batory Foundation in Warsaw and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris; G.M. Tamás formerly of Georgetown University; Vladimir Tismaneanu, University of Maryland at College Park; Grigory Yavlinsky, member of the Russian State Duma (parliament).
Contents: I. The Exit from Communism 1. How Different Are Postcommunist Transitions: Ghia Nodia 2. Comparing East and South: Valerie Bunce 3. The Persistence of Postcommunist Elites: John Higley, Judith Kullberg, and Jan Pakulsk i4. Civil Society after Communism: Aleksander Smolar 5. Understanding Postcommunist Transitions: Leszek Balcerowicz 6. Estonia's Success Story: Mart Laar 7. The Postcommunist Wars: Charles H. Fairbanks, Jr. II. The East European Experience 8. The Postcommunist Divide: Jacques Rupnik 9. Europe Transformed: Richard Rose 10. Reassessing the Revolutions of 1989: Vladimir Tismaneanu 11. The Transformation of Central Europe: Bronislaw Gereme k12. Victory Defeated: G.M. Tamás 13. The International Context: Jacques Rupnik 14. A Diverging Europe: Richard Rose 15. History and Memory: The Revolutions of 1989-91: Aleksander Smolar III. The Post-Soviet Experience 16. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: Michael McFaul 17. The Primacy of History and Culture: Zbigniew Brzezinski 18. The Impact of Nationalism: Ghia Nodia 19. From Democratization to ""Guided Democracy"": Archie Brown 20. The Advantages of Radical Reform: Anders Åslund 21. Disillusionment in the Caucasus and Central Asia: Charles H. Fairbanks, Jr. 22. Sovereignty and Uncertainty in Ukraine: Nadia Diuk 23. Russia's Hybrid Regime: Lilia Shevtsova 24. Putin's Path: M. Steven Fish 25. Going Backwards: Grigory Yavlinsky 26. A Mixed Record, an Uncertain Future: Michael McFaul
""A thoughtful collection of essays on the hazards, practical and conceptual, of one of the monumental changes in world affairs in our time.""
