Suchergebnisse

A set of articles analyzing transitions to democracy is introduced. The origin & evolution of the discipline of transitology are surveyed. The diversity of transitional experiences has called for adjustments to analytical models. The articles -- focusing of Chilean & Eastern European cases -- are abstracted. E. Taylor

The fall of the Berlin wall is deemed to have passed unaware in Chile, overshadowed by the urging issue of putting an end to the dictatorship by the way of the presidential election called to decide who would succeed General Pinochet. The paper explores the gap between the impact of the event, as it can be tracked in the journals & newspapers of the time, & its apparent "oblivion" by those who lived it. The analysis shows that the crisis of real socialism well & truly crystallized the divorce between the two most important factions of the Chilean left: the Socialist Party of Chile & the Communist Party. It recounts the process by which a widening rift surged between the political discourses circulating in the public sphere & the private appraisal of what was occurring in the political arena. Adapted from the source document.

It is contended that, in a time when culture is being homogenized & nations are joining to form supranational entities, the decision of states like Slovakia to seek national sovereignty goes against the trend. The details of Slovakia's separation from the Czech Republic are reviewed, & it is argued that, in this case at least, the relationship between nationalism & democracy can lead to the acceptance of new responsibilities & accelerate the transition toward pluralistic democratic talks on the renunciation of defensive unity & identity tensions. Hope is expressed that the Slovaks, like the Czechs, will seek national identity through an open stance toward the rest of the world. Adapted from the source document.