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Institutional Dimensions of Democratisation in Hungary and Romania: A Comparative Analysis

Journal Name:

  • European Journal of Economic and Political Studies

Publication Year:

  • 2010

Key Words:

Author NameUniversity of Author
Abstract (2. Language): 
The phase of transition initiated by the collapse of communist rule in the Eastern Central Europe (ECE) is a part of the processes of what Huntington called as the Third Wave of democratization which have also involved southern Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia in the last 40 years. Yet, the transition from communist rule and the construction of a postcommunist order in the ECE countries followed different path. This study compares institutional dimensions of democratization which stand for distribution of executive power, electoral and party systems in Hungary and Romania. Despite having shared a communist past experience, Hungary and Romania followed a quite different path in their post Cold War political order: Hungary is accepted as being the clearest example of a peaceful negotiation, while Romanian Revolution was the most bloody of all in the region. In Hungary well-organized political parties decided for a strong parliamentary government, while weakly organized parties led to a presidential system and personal leadership in Romania. Furthermore, Political party systems in both countries were developed in different directions: Hungary that has experienced a regime discontinuity sees the successive creation of a new competitive multiparty system while Romania that is dominated by continuity succeeded a limited adaptation over time. But the electoral systems in both countries favor governability and stability over representativeness that eventually help larger parties and hurt smaller ones.
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  • 1
201-212
  • English

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