The challenge of democratic consolidation in post-communist Europe

Analysts interested in the process of democratic consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe have sought to apply generalities and rules of thumb culled from consolidation processes in South America and Southern Europe. Although no firm guidelines exist to determine precisely when a democracy has been 'consolidated,' general indicators do exist. The authors are concerned particularly with democratic consolidation in Russia, although they employ a consciously comparative perspective, with special reference to the post-communist states of East-Central Europe. Russia has yet to consolidate its democratic system, although substantial progress has been achieved in creating formal institutions of a democratic polity. In East-Central Europe, substantially more progress has been made and the prospects for political stabilization and democratic consolidation in the short term are favorable. Yet, across the entire region, political institutions are still insecurely linked to a popular base, and it is not clear to what extent the political values associated with democracy have been internalized.