Is the glass half full or half empty?: Reflections on five years of competitive politics in Eastern Europe

This article explores the causes for the pervasive sentiment in contemporary Eastern Europe to the effect that “it is democratic but it isn't”. It begins with a discussion of the differences between “procedural” and “substantive” democracy, and finds that the institutions of procedural democrac...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Communist and post-communist studies 1997-03, Vol.30 (1), p.1-21
Main Author: Comisso, Ellen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Central East Europe
Central Europe
Competition
Democracy
DEMOCRATIC PROCESS AND INSTITUTIONS
EASTERN EUROPE
Economic policy
Elections
Europe, East
Government and politics
Political conditions
Political economy
Political life
Politics
Post-communist societies
PRIVATIZATION
procedural
Regime transition
substantive
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Summary:This article explores the causes for the pervasive sentiment in contemporary Eastern Europe to the effect that “it is democratic but it isn't”. It begins with a discussion of the differences between “procedural” and “substantive” democracy, and finds that the institutions of procedural democracy have proven surprisingly robust in the postcommunist period. It then examines three variants of substantive democracy: liberal, national, and egalitarian. Each links democratic government to a particular social and economic order, none of which fully describes the actual situation within most states in the area. Finally, these distinctions between types of democracy are employed to illuminate the dynamics of both policy choices regarding restitution and privatization and electoral outcomes in the past half-decade.
ISSN:0967-067X
1873-6920
DOI:10.1016/S0967-067X(96)00020-7