The essays in this volume challenge the distinction between social movements and institutional politics by arguing that movements are deeply entwined with normal politics. This essay extends this argument to the new democracies of Eastern Europe. It analyzes the transformation of the social movements that assumed power in new governments after the fall of communism, and shows how social movements may give rise to institutions of political consultation and accountability between states and their citizens. Yet, in the wake of rapid regime change and the absence of long-standing domestic models for democratic institutions, the antiregime social movements did not smoothly evolve into democratic parties. Rather, both international actors and domestic constituencies influenced divisions and conflicts, and produced different outcomes in each case.

The cases presented in this essay suggest that movements are transformed by governing and, moreover, that the parties that emerge from movements do not necessarily conform to standard notions of political parties. Initially, movements may form parties around political cleavages rather than the socioeconomic interests traditionally emphasized by the scholarly literature. Further, international actors may influence this development by encouraging movements to adopt new organizational forms and issues – areas lacking historical precedent. These forms and issues are not simply imitated, however, but are subsequently adapted to mobilize domestic public support. The results thus do not necessarily conform to Western parliamentary models of parties and politics.

To develop these claims, I compare the transformation of social movements into political parties in two countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.