Ko sta srp in kladivo izgubila moč : razkroj sovjetskega satelitskega sistema in demokratizacija srednje in vzhodne Evrope

Abstract

The contemporary discussion of democratic movements during the late 1980s and early 1990s stresses the need to place these phenomena in a broader context, comprising the prehistory, dating at least to the beginning of WWII, the dynamics of the processes itself, and their aftermath until 2020. Regarding the historical foundations, a few characterictics have to be singled out. For instance, the inability or unwillingness of the Soviets to see the historical differences in their domain greatly contributed to the rather early and unexpected demise of their empire. Greater emphasis should be given to the particularities of the Soviet republics themselves. It is somewhat clear that the uneasy task to balance national emancipation and democratization was undertaken almost everywhere in the late 1980s. It is also easy to see that the former process gained the upper hand in most areas.

Keywords

• democratic movements in central and eastern europe
• poland
• national emancipation
• soviet union
• democratization
• fall of communism