Читать книгу Pathways - Группа авторов - Страница 7

Our premise is that the roots of the current power structure that developed after communism should be sought in the way in which the elites have handled the four interconnected transformations. It is in this arena of connected processes that the battle between the incumbent and opposition elites was fought, and hence it is here that the roots of the new power structure are to be found. Originally, ‘transition to democracy’ simply denoted the process from the breakdown of an authoritarian regime to the agreement that establishes democracy (O’Donnell & Schmitter 1986). However, as noted above, establishing democratic procedures is not the same as democratic consolidation, and when we abandon the concepts of democratisation and democratic consolidation, the study of political development after communism becomes vastly more complex.

We now turn to a description of the four transformation areas and how they are interrelated. In doing so, we include illustrative examples from the region. Lastly, we consider how the international context constrains or furthers elite decisions.