Comparative development of post-communist civil societies

The inherent contradictions of communism and its eventual collapse as a political system undeniably stimulated a resurgence of the civil society concept in social science research. Paradoxically, though, this renewed interest has only rarely been translated into systematic analysis of civil society in the post-communist context of democratisation, swamped by a wave of such established research topics as political party systems, public opinion and economic reform. This article presents a rigorous examination of the association between the development of legal frameworks for civil society and the level of democratic development in post-communist states. Focusing solely on institutional features enacted by the state to shape the nature and activities of the non-profit sector, this article creates an indicator of civil society based on 'best practice' guidelines that will be used to examine the development of non-profit sectors in more than 20 post-communist states during 1991-98. Analysis of this indicator shows a strong association with democratic development, points to important institutional features in need of strengthening, and demonstrates stark differences within this set of states. Further conceptual considerations, however, point to the importance of a future research agenda focused on detailed, contextual study of the involvement of civil society in policy-making processes.