Introduction

Abstract

During the years 1985 to 1990 Central Europe bore witness to some truly remarkable changes. As the Gorbachev reform process gathered pace it gradually became clear to ruling elites, ordinary citizens, and dissidents as well as to seasoned foreign observers of politics in this part of Europe, that Mikhail Gorbachev was intent upon re-inventing Marxist socialism. As we know he was unable to accomplish this mammoth task, and from the summer of 1989 one by one the states ofCentral Europe began to leave the Soviet orbit. The question then became one of what would replace the old order? The most optimistic of commentators predicted a painless transition to politics based upon the value systems extant in the western part of Europe. The more gloomy prophesied a return to the authoritarian values of the pre- World War Two era. Unsurprisingly neither forecast was correct, and instead we have seen the establishment of a variety of regimes, none of which exactly replicates either the image of past experience in Central Europe, or the West European model. This state of affairs is due to the combination of inter-state relations, historical memory, economic performance, value systems, and cleavage patterns which govern the conduct of domestic politics in this part of Europe.