Central European University, Budapest

The Concept of Democracy in the
Political Transformations of Central
and Eastern Europe

by

Maximilian Spinner

Content: 

1. Introduction 3

2. Transition to what kind of democracy ? 4

Poland and Hungary 4
The political stalemate 5
Revolution ruled out 6
How ‘minimalist’ was negotiated transition to democracy? 10
The benefits of negotiated democratization 12
The implications for the consolidation of ‘negotiated’ democracies 13

3. Conclusion 16

4. Bibliography 18

1.Introduction

The short time span of 1989/90 marked a period of fundamental change in Central and Eastern Europe. Communist one-party dictatorship was replaced by democracy, accompanied by the introduction of a free market economy. Despite the deep and historical changes taking place this period was marked by its striking peacefulness and restraint by both opposition and the old regime, not regarding the case of Romania. In most Central and East European countries democracy was established through some kind of settlement between old and new elites securing an organized and peaceful regime change.¹ Especially in the cases of Poland and Hungary, the first countries in the region to start transition round-table talks were the key process to democratization. Instead of an act of a ‘new beginning’, a ‘zero hour’ with a constituent assembly the rules of transition were agreed on the basis of the legal framework of the old legal system. Not some kind of popular will expressed by the masses was put into action but a limited set of rules for the first free elections and some accompanying arrangements based on an agreement between old and new political leaders. The apparently missing democratic legitimacy of the actors on the round table and the lack of broad participation stands in contrast to the aim and ultimate outcome of the transition. This puzzle deserves some closer examination.

Focusing mainly on the Polish and Hungarian examples my aim in this paper is not to redraw the course of the round-table talks but to examine the underlying concept of democracy. At first I will briefly outline the historical situation which lead to the talks ruling out a revolutionary approach to democratization. Building on that I will attempt to explain why and in how far these coordinated transitions were focusing on the procedural aspects of democracy, i.e. the establishment of free elections following a procedural or ‘minimalist’ concept of democracy. I will discuss in how far this approach was conducive to the establishment of a complete democracy. Moreover, I will briefly address some implications and problems resulting from the legacy of this mode of transition for subsequent democratic consolidation. These considerations also lead to a more general question: In how far can democracy be introduced in a democratic way? I will not explicitly address this question but my considerations belong to this larger debate and might point to some answers.

2. Transformation to what kind of democracy ?

The end of communism in Central Eastern Europe and its rapid replacement with democratic systems came as a surprise for most observers. Yet, the end of communist rule and the installation of a democratic system came about in an orderly and organized way almost everywhere. Although in most countries popular mass action in the form of demonstrations or strikes had been decisive in forcing the old leadership to concede its defeat or at least to start a dialogue with the opposition, soon democratization became an elite-driven process. Transformation scholars termed this process ‘pacted’ or ‘negotiated’ transition.

Poland and Hungary
The classical examples for this category among the Central and East European countries are Poland and Hungary which will also serve to illustrate my points. Poland in particular and also Hungary as the first transition countries were regarded as trailblazers for the other Central and East European transitions to democracy. Strong elements of pacted transition were actually present in virtually all the Central East European countries’ transitions. Yet, Poland and Hungary offer the most striking examples as unlike elsewhere neither the opposition nor the old regime were strong enough to dominate the course of the talks.² Moreover, questions of nation building or national reorganization which soon dominated the transition agenda in the GDR or in Czechoslovakia were not topical in the two countries. Since completed national formation is widely seen an essential precondition to successful democratization³

[...]

1 I apply the terms regime change and transformation according to János Kis’ definition (J Kis (1995), Between Reform and Revolution: Three Hypotheses About the Nature of the Regime Change, Constellations, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 399-421; J Kis (1998), Between Reform and Revolution, East European Politics and Society, Vol. 12, No.2, pp. 300-389).

2 Czechoslovakia is an example for opposition-dominated round-table talks whereas in Bulgaria the power balance favoured the communist party.

3 D Rustow (1970), Transitions to Democracy – Towards a Dynamic Model, Comparative Politics, p. 350.