Is East-Central Europe Backsliding? Leninist Legacies, Pluralist Dilemmas

Issue Date October 2007
Volume 18
Issue 4
Page Numbers 34-39
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The most important threats to postcommunist new democracies are the following: persistence of Leninist mentalities and authoritarian practices; cynicism; longing for authoritarian paternalism; nationalism; absence of moral clarity and delays in coming to terms with the totalitarian past; ideological confusion, weakness of political parties, and rise of populist anti-systemic demagogues; institutional weakness; inconsistencies in developing accountability and rule of law; and widespread corruption. To understand how East-Central European societies have evolved since 1989, we must understand the building blocks that contribute to the establishment and functioning of open societies.

About the Author

Vladimir Tismaneanu is professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland, College Park. His most recent book is The Devil in History: Communism, Fascism, and Some Lessons of the Twentieth Century (2012).

View all work by Vladimir Tismaneanu