Michael Rossi
Department of Political Science
Masters Program in United Nations and Global Policy Studies
Rutgers University
July 2, 2021
Why have the countries of Central Europe been regarded as the most successful of all post-Communist countries to transition from single-party bureaucratic authoritarian rule towards democratic consolidation?
What makes countries like Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Lativa, and Estonia stand out from the other countries of the Balkans and former Soviet Union?
Was there any particular bias from the United States and the European Union in reaching out to them first and welcoming their "return to Europe"?
This lecture examines the alleged historical, institutional, geographical, and in some assumptions even cultural advantages this region enjoyed over others. Specifically, this lecture discusses the nature of authoritarian government in these countries and how its leadership was much more willing to negotiate with an organized and mobile democratic opposition in an effort to either find a compromise solution for public unrest, or simply negotiate their way out of power and into semi-retirement.
In essence, Central Europe benefited from "elite bargaining", historical links to "European civilization", and significant sympathy and support coming from Western Europe and the United States.
But these early assets may have led to a number of unforeseen liabilities that we will pick up in the next lecture when we examine more contemporary politics and political cultures.
Chapter Markers:
00:00:00 - 00:06:30 - Introduction
00:06:30 - 00:10:23 - Central Europe's Balance Sheet
00:10:23 - 00:18:50 - The Advantages of Post-Communist Transition
00:18:50 - 00:25:00 - Clear Positive Developments
00:25:00 - 00:29:46 - The Nature of Democratic Transition
00:29:46 - 00:37:10 - What is Elite Bargaining?
00:37:10 - 00:42:09 - Necessary Assumptions for This to Work
00:42:09 - 00:48:04 - What All This Translates Into
00:48:04 - 00:53:45 - So When 1989 Happens....
00:53:45 - 01:00:51 - But is This the End of the Debate?
