Parties and Democracy in the Eastern European Countries Essay

Parties and Democracy in the Eastern European Countries - Essay Example Parties help fix the newly established democratic governments in a broader community and influence their stability among the numerous processes of quick social and industrial change. Valuable constitutions and the various processes implicated in the rule of law are reinforced by the possibilities parties put forward for the progress of a more active citizenry and the appearance of a strong democratic political way of life. "There are also strong reasons to believe such conditions are conducive to stable processes of economic development and the formation of effective market economies" (ibid, p.2). The concentration on electoral activity and the methods parties use to reach administration office are particularly important. To the extent of post-communist eastern Europe, it can be stated that involvement in competitive elections is a foremost attribute of party identity development and the advancement of such organizations. Party competition is an important characteristic of the contemporary governments that differentiates them from the single party totalitarianism of the communist era and offers at the present moment a real focus of attention. The single-party government that existed within the Soviet dictatorship, and afterwards reached other parts of Europe and the world, had nothing in common with the experience of the democratic competitive party regime. Modern Eastern Europe contains most of the post-communist countries and the main part of former the Soviet Union. Lewis gives the following classification of eastern European countries: "east-central Europe: Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic; the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania; the Balkans: Romania, Bulgaria, Albania and the most of the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia) former Soviet republics: Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine" (ibid, p.5). 1989 was an important year both for the states of eastern Europe and the growth of a democratic Europe in general. Its most outstanding image can be seen in opening wide of the strongly protected gates set in the Berlin Wall and the enthusiasm with which the inhabitants of Berlin set about its destruction, but consequently it was a process of creation that would do most to resolve how long and in which form this recently received liberty would exist. This probably influenced Velvet revolution in the Baltic states with final fall of the Soviet empire. The main part of the process was the construction of new political organizations and the establishment of a variety of parties competent in expressing the viewpoints and objectives of contemporary population. On the other hand, there was a serious problem faced by the number of post-communist countries - the lack of experience of liberal democracy and the comparative limitation of party development after the countries had gained independ ence. The building of civil society as the main focus of political interest has succeeded during the recent years, since general civil liberties, gained by people, have influenced their outlook and political viewpoints. This is the main characteristic of 'subunits, capable of opposing and countervailing the state' (Gellner, 1991, p.500).