1989 as a return to Europe: on revolution, reform, and reconciliation with a traumatic past

Titel: 1989 as a return to Europe: on revolution, reform, and reconciliation with a traumatic past
Verfasser:
Veröffentlicht: Berlin, 2008
Umfang: Online-Ressource, 17 S.
Format: E-Book
Sprache: Englisch
Schriftenreihe/
mehrbändiges Werk:
Working Paper Series of the Research Network 1989 ; Bd. 18
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Zusammenfassung: Abstract: The present paper examines the 1989 collapse of communist rule in East-Central Europe (ECE) and the subsequent developments by focusing on the countries that experienced a regime change in 1989, i.e., Poland, Hungary, former GDR and Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania. Thus, revolution, reform and reconciliation with the recent past are key concepts in terms of the present analysis. The main argument put forward by this study is that the nature of the 1989 regime change has influenced to a large extent the subsequent developments in the respective countries, especially with regard to the processes of democratization and integration into the European structures. Equally important, it influenced the way in which the wrongdoings of the defunct communist regimes were dealt with. This study is concerned with three major issues: (1) the nature of regime change; (2) the factors that determined the speed of the democratic consolidation process; and (3) the ways of coming to terms with the