Research guidelines for country-studies

Factors influencing the formation of political groups and parties

1. What are the key elements of the precommunist historical legacy of each country? Did the country have any precommunist experience of democracy, and have any elements of the postcommunist polity, such as particular government structures, intermediary associations, and political parties, been modeled on precommunist patterns?

2. What are the key elements of the legacy of the communist era? How has the political and social evolution of each country in the late communist era (e.g., the emergence or nonemergence of a significant dissent movement) affected the postcommunist formation of societal interest groups and parties?

3. How did the nature of the transition from communism (e.g., gradual versus abrupt; peaceful versus violent; internally – versus externally – precipitated) affect the formation of intermediary associations and parties in the early postcommunist period?

4. In the postcommunist selection of government leaders, what has been the importance of competitive elections and other forms of citizen political participation compared with threats of violence and the use of violence? Have military officers or the political police played a significant role in the selection process?

5. What political forces and calculations shaped the late-communist and especially the postcommunist electoral legislation and the timing of elections?

6. In brief, what are the main social and ethnic cleavages in postcommunist society?

7. In brief, what have been the pattern and pace of postcommunist economic change, and which social groups have been the winners and losers?