Conference paper
THE STATE OF LAW AND DEMOCRACY IN POST-SOCIALISM
Nenad Zakošek
; Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The author argues that in the debates about “democratic transition” of post-socialist societies the importance of development of state of law for the formation of democracy has not been sufficiently accounted for. The absence of state of law results in the formation of authoritarian structures of political power which in the long run obstruct the process of democratization. Those structures include the concentration of political power in the hands of charismatic leaders, the transformation of political into economic power, the formation of clientelist structures, the development of a system of privileges and corruption, and the break-down of the state monopoly of the means of violence, resulting in the “refeudalization” of political power. In conclusion the author describes two developmental options for the post-socialist societies: the formation of a “Latin American” type of authoritarian-populist regimes or the gradual transformation towards a Western type of state of law and liberal democracy, initiated by the pressures from the international environment and internal forces.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
105645
URI
Publication date:
16.1.1998.
Visits: 1.151 *