DEMOCRATIC EXPERIENCE IN CENTRAL EUROPE: 25 YEARS LATER

Democratization of the formerly communist states of Central Europe took place during the "third wave of democratization" (Huntington). It was a remarkably orderly process, resulting in the establishment and consolidation of new democratic systems. In this respect Central Europe, mostly because of its cultural identity as part of the Western civilization, differed positively from most of the former Soviet republics and from the Balkans. Recently, however, new authoritarian regimes, based on free election but abolishing the rule of law, have been established in Hungary and Poland, mostly due to the dissatisfaction of the poorer strata with the effects of system transformation.