<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Post-communist states of East Central Europe face the authoritarian challenge to their young democracies, the sources of which are both historical and contemporary. Economic underdevelopment, the retarded process of nation-building and several decades of communist rul made countries of the region less well prepared for democratic transformation than their Western neighbors, but better than former Soviet Union. Combination of economic and social tensions, nationalism and religious fundamentalism creates conditions conducive tom the crises of democracy, but such crises can be overcome if liberal and socialist forces join hands.</p></abstract>

Post-communist states of East Central Europe face the authoritarian challenge to their young democracies, the sources of which are both historical and contemporary. Economic underdevelopment, the retarded process of nation-building and several decades of communist rul made countries of the region less well prepared for democratic transformation than their Western neighbors, but better than former Soviet Union. Combination of economic and social tensions, nationalism and religious fundamentalism creates conditions conducive tom the crises of democracy, but such crises can be overcome if liberal and socialist forces join hands.

The Crisis of Democracy: An East-Central European Perspective

Politics in Central Europe

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"The Crisis of Democracy: An East-Central European Perspective"}

Post-communist states of East Central Europe face the authoritarian challenge to their young democracies, the sources of which are both historical and...

The Crisis of Democracy: An East-Central European Perspective

Published Online: Sep 18, 2020

Page range: 353 - 365

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pce-2020-0016

Keywords
Authoritarianism, Communism, Democracy, Historical background, Leadership, Revolution

© 2020 Jerzy J. Wiatr, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Crisis of Democracy: An East-Central European Perspective

Published Online: Sep 18, 2020

Page range: 353 - 365

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pce-2020-0016

KeywordsAuthoritarianism, Communism, Democracy, Historical background, Leadership, Revolution

© 2020 Jerzy J. Wiatr, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Authoritarianism, Communism, Democracy, Historical background, Leadership, Revolution