The `Comparative Revolution' and the Transition in Central and Southern Europe

Abstract

The Latin American, South European and, later, the Central and East European democratic transitions have led to a `revolution' in comparative politics. Instead of the polar notions of democracy and dictatorship, different types of `transitions' have emerged and democracy has appeared also as a function of the world-system. The paper suggests that there are four scenarios for Central and East European democratic transitions in their international context: (1) Sleeping Beauty (easy westernization); (2) Deepfreeze (return to the past); (3) Latin Americanization (falling back to the Third World); and (4) Fair Weather (Central Europe joins the European integration).