THE CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRACY IN THE INTERWAR PERIOD: LESSONS FROM THE PAST RELEVANT TODAY
THE CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRACY IN THE INTERWAR PERIOD: LESSONS FROM THE PAST RELEVANT TODAY

Summary/Abstract: POLAND, LITHUANIA, AND CZECHOSLOVAKIA IN AN EXTENDED ROKKANIAN PERSPECTIVE This article analyzes the democratization processes in interwar Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in a refined Rokkanian fashion. My work represents a preliminary effort to explain diverse democratic outcomes in Poland, Lithuania and Czechoslovakia (CSR) through Rokkan’s explicative factors: economy, culture, territory, and politics. First, Why in Poland and Lithuania did the newly-established institutions collapse while in Czechoslovakia they did not? How does the model work with CEE cases? More functionally, is it possible to properly use this working model outside its defined boundaries? I try to answer these questions according to Rokkan’s theoretical traits which define (the timing and the strength of) democratization processes. My findings suggest that some structural characteristics of the polities powerfully impact the chances for democratic survival. In particular, 1) the continuity of representative rule, 2) the style of government of the elites visà- vis the counter-elites, 3) the degree of formal/informal protection for religious, ethnic or linguistic minorities, 4) the religious heritage, and 5) the geopolitical dimension of the country clearly arise as the most fundamental elements of my analysis. My work primarily looks at the interwar period, but to a certain extent calls into cause still open aspects. I assume that an in-depth analysis of the events which characterized the CEE polities in the 1920s-1930s and of their historical sources might well provide a good venture point for a more aware understanding of the recent developments and of the current dynamics in post-Communist Europe.

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