Hungary and the other Central European countries have double historical legacies. Both the legacy of the prewar period and the consequences of the communist regime have played an important role in the transition toward democracy recently. This article aims to analyse some of the elements of the historical roots, that is (i) the party system, (ii) the social background, and (iii) the value system. The influence of the international environment and the deep internal cleavages is also mentioned. Finally, the author emphasizes the chances of the recent democratic transition, paying special attention to the new political organizations and the pitfalls of the road.
ágh, A. (1991) `The Parliamentary Way to Democracy: the Case of Hungary'. Budapest Papers on Democratic Transition.
2.
Balogh, S.
, ed. (1945) Magyarország a XX.században (Hungary in the 20th century). Budapest: Kossuth 1985.
3.
Berend, I.
and Gy. Ránki (1972) A magyar gazdaság 100 éve (One Hundred Years of the Hungarian Economy), Budapest: Kossuth és KJK.
4.
Körösényi, A.
(1991) `Revival of the Past or New Beginning?' in Gy Szoboszlai (ed.) Democracy and Political Transformation, pp. 165-192. Budapest: Hungarian Political Science Association.
5.
Rotschilde, J.
(1974) East-Central Europe Between the Two World Wars. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
6.
Schöpflin, G.
(1990) `The Political Traditions of Eastern Europe', Daedalus119(1): 55-90.
7.
Szoboszlai, Gy.
(1991) `Elections and Political System Change in Hungary and Czecho-Slovakia', in Democratikus átmenetek (Democratic Transitions), Yearbook of the Hungarian Political Science Association, pp. 202-211.
8.
Völgyes, I.
(1990) `Not with a Bang but a Whimper', in Kurtán-Sándor-Vass (eds) Magyarország poltikai évkönyve (Political Yearbook of Hungary), pp. 168-184. Budapest: Aula-OMIKK.
