The Roundtable Talks and the Breakdown of CommunismJon Elster In 1989 and 1990, Eastern European Communist regimes and opposition groups conducted a series of roundtable talks to peacefully negotiate the abolition of authoritarian rule and the transition to democratic governance. This volume documents that unprecedented process of national reinvention and constitution making. These essays capture the historical circumstances of these countries—their traditions, customs, and the balance of influence between competing factions—that often took precedence over constitutional ideals. In five country-specific reports, senior scholars provide detailed accounts of the talks in Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and the German Democratic Republic. Also included is an essay on the political factors underlying the failure of negotiations between reform groups and the Chinese regime, providing an illuminating counterpoint to the path taken in Eastern Europe. This book is an invaluable resource for scholars of constitutional design and democratization and for specialists in Eastern Europe. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Roundtable Talks in Poland | 21 |
The Roundtable Talks in Hungary | 69 |
The Roundtable Talks in the German Democratic Republic | 99 |
FOUR | 105 |
The Roundtable Talks in Czechoslovakia | 135 |
The Roundtable Talks in Bulgaria | 178 |
The StateSociety Relationship Choices | 213 |
Contributors | 241 |
Common terms and phrases
accept Adamec agreed agreement argument BANU bargaining Beijing Bulgarian Čalfa Čarnogurský Central Committee Chai Ling chairman changes Civic Forum civic groups coalition Communist Party compromise concessions constitution Czech Czechoslovakia December decisions declared delegation demands democracy democratic Deng discussed draft economic Federal Assembly federal prime minister FIDESZ free elections Geremek Havel HSWP Husák important issue Jaruzelski KCOF Kiszczak Komárek Kwasniewski leaders leadership legislative legitimacy Li Peng Magdalenka majority Marián Čalfa martial law mass meeting ment moral National nomenklatura official old regime opposition OPZZ organizations parliament parliamentary participants Pithart plenary session Poland politburo political parties position Pozsgay president proposed Public Against Violence PUWP radical representatives resignation Reykowski ribao role round table Roundtable Talks Sejm side Slovak social Socialist Soviet student movement subtable SZDSZ Tiananmen tion Union Volkskammer votes Walesa Zhao Zhao's