Post-Communist Transition Emerging Pluralism in Hungary [Hardcover]

The transition from communist dictatorship to multi-party democracy has proved a long and painful process for the countries of Eastern Europe, and has met with varying degrees of success. In Hungary, the radical opposition was uniquely successful in fighting off attempts by the old-guard communist elite to hijack reform programmes, by forcing free elections and creating a multi-party system. This volume focuses on the Hungarian experience, analysing in detail the process of transition from dictatorship to pluralist democracy. Some of Hungary's leading political scientists examine issues such as the legitimation crisis of communist rule, resulting struggles within the ruling elite and the forces behind transition. Constitutional reform, party formation and voting behaviour at the first free elections are also taken into account. The concluding section places the Hungarian experience in comparative perspective, within the context of other Central and Western European states.

PrefaceGeorge Sch?pflin
1. The Decay of Communist Rule in HungaryAndr?s K?r?s?nyi
2. Post-Communist TransitionAndr?s Boz?ki
3. The Character of the Political Parties in Hungary in Autumn 1989L?szl? Lengyel
4. 1989: The Negotiated Revolution in HungaryL?szl? Bruszt
5. Political Transition and Constitutional Change in HungaryAndr?s Boz?ki
6. The Hungarian Parliamentary Elections, 1990Andr?s K?r?s?nyi
7. Hungarian Transition from a Public Choice PerspectiveL?szl? Urb?n
8. From Communism to Democracy in HungaryGeorge Sch?pflin
9. Revival of the Past or New Beginning? The Nature of Post-Communist PoliticsAndr?s K?r?s?nyi
10. The Making of Political Fields in Post-Communist Transition (Dynamics of Class and Party in Hungarian Politics, 1989-90)Tam?s Kolosi, Ivan Szel?nyi, Szonja Szel?nyi and Bruce Western
11. The Hungarian Transition in a Comparative PerspectiveAndr?s Boz?ki
Index