Singularidad y regularidad de las transiciones a la democracia en Europa del Este

Abstract

This article assesses the uniqueness of the transitions to democracy which occurred in Eastern European countries after 1989, a feature which has led to great difficulty in applying models developed for the analysis of other transitions such as those of Latin America or Southern Europe. The starting point of the process (monopoly of power in the hands of the Communist parties, a state-controlled economy, lack of civil liberties) and the rapid change of system have not been convincingly explained by the standard transition theory, which therefore requires a reformulation. Likewise, recourse to comparisons (namely with the Spanish case) has proved excessive, as it has often resulted in equating these transitions to other hardly comparable ones.