After the regime changes of 1989, the states of Central and Eastern Europe embarked on the path of liberal democracy and free market capitalism. However, the two decades that have passed since then revealed that the transitions in the region did not take place smoothly and cannot be considered uniform, as the historical-cultural and economic peculiarities of the specific countries left their mark
on most components of the democratization process. Yet, beside the differences, one can also detect the impact of general phenomena, too. In spite of catching up (to varying degrees) with the European Union, the democratic institutional systems of Central and Eastern European states often falter, autocratic reflexes resurface in certain countries of the region, and after a brief euphoria citizens started to gradually turn away from politics. The main goal of the conference is to investigate the process of transition and the consolidation that followed, as well as the system of democratic institutions that emerged as a result, paying special attention to the following aspects:
• the interpretations of the concept of democracy specific to the analyzed countries
• the functioning of democratic institutions and of the rule of law
• the party systems and the content of ideologies
• the evolution of electoral behavior
• the situation and evolution of civil society
• the relationship between democracy and ethno-cultural diversity
• the issue of the boundaries of the political communities in the context of activist kin-state policies
• democracy deficit in the EU, prospects for surmounting these issues
• are there alternatives to democracy?
