Michal Mochtak (mochtak@mail.muni.cz) Revolutions of 1989 and openings towards democracy (A happy-ending story?) }General patterns in the region of CE }Revolutions of 1989 ◦Poland ◦Hungary ◦Czechoslovakia: Velvet revolution }Discussion }Longstanding crisis in Communist block. }General dissatisfaction with the living conditions. }Rotten political system; corruption; gray and black economy. }Withdraw of Soviet support from local communist parties (Gorbachev’s change of foreign policy) and policies of Glasnost and Perestroika. }Rise of nationalism. }HOWEVER, the fall of communism was totally unexpected. } fronta_na_maso.jpg }Different models of dissatisfaction: ◦Poland, Germany, Hungary – open criticism of the regime (performance). ◦Rest of the region (Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia) – more or less inchoate and barely noticeable (on the level of masses); however, parallel structures existed (underground). }Reform was discussed inside the communist parties but not the change of the regime as a whole. }Dissidents and opposition groups criticized mainly the communist monopoly; liberal democracy was not the first choice; third way – best features of capitalist and socialist economies. }Important: most actors unprepared! }As a reaction to reform ‘initiatives’ in Soviet Union, similar efforts occurred at the end of 1980s in Poland and Hungary. ◦Solidarity movement in Poland survived the military suppression from 1981and started to demand basic political and civil rights (again). ◦Followers of reform-oriented Hungarian communist Janos Kadar called for genuine transformation and political liberalization. }The rest of the region stood more or less still (Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, East Germany). solidarnosc-385x257.jpg }Following collapse was sequential ◦February 1989, Hungarian Communist party invited the opposition to form political parties. ◦April 1989, Solidarity leaders and Poland’s Communist leaders negotiated constitutional changes that created space for political participation by the opposition. }It sent a clear signal to the rest of the region ◦It took two months to German opposition to organize and subsequently depose communist leaders (October 1989). ◦In Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria only few weeks were needed (November 1989). Jack-Sparrow.jpg }Mostly peaceful; violence did occur only in Romania where the harassment of a Hungarian pastor in Transylvania ignited a popular revolt and conflict between Securitate and the army that led to execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu (communist leaders) (December 1989). }Less successful story was Yugoslavia with its ethnic division and postponed transformation that has (truly) started only in the late 1990s. }A wave of strikes hit Poland in April, May and August 1988. }Workers demanded the re-legalisation of Solidarity. }Number of factories and mines went on strike. The country was paralyzed. }Communist leaders finally agreed to meet Lech Walesa and Solidarity to ease the situation. }Major breakthrough in January 1989: Communist party supported formal negotiations with Solidarity leading to its future legalisation. } }April 1989: signing of Round Table Agreement – legalisation of Solidarity and plans for partly free parliamentary election later that year. }June 1989: Solidarity sensationally won the election. Its candidates got all the allocated seats in Sejm (lower house) and 99 out of 100 seats in Senate (upper house). }Many communist candidates failed to pass the minimum votes threshold required to take the reserved seats. }August 1989: Long time coalition partners (United People's Party and Democratic Party), broke their ties with Communists and announced their support for Solidarity. }Hungary had achieved some lasting economic reforms and limited political liberalization during the1980s. }Following the changes, the process was further accelerated in the 1988 and 1989. }January 1989: so-called "democracy package“ was adopted (e.g. freedom of association, assembly, and press; trade union pluralism; new electoral law). }Reinterpretation of history: 1956 rebellion was a popular uprising not a foreign-initiated counterrevolution. } }March 1989: demonstrations during the National Day pushed the regimes to negotiations with non-Communist parties. }April 1989: Round Table talks. }May 1989: Hungary began dismantling its 150 mile long border fence with Austria. }June 1989: rehabilitation of Prime Minister Imre Nagy (hanged for treason; revolution in 1956). }September 1989: New constitution; call for free election. } }Opposition was not organized; however, galvanized by the events in the neighbourhood (Poland; Hungary; GDR) and worldwide (Tiananmen Square, China). } un-readiness of all actors and strategies }Change: features of pact and reform }liberalization and democratization was parallel } }The trigger was the student demonstration on November 17, 1989; police violently struck against the peaceful protesters (50th anniversary of the death of a student, Jan Opletal, at the hands of the Nazis). }Rumour: death of student }Students initiated protest strike (later joined by actors and artists) }November 19, 1989 – founded Civic forum (broad civic movement); Slovakia: Public against violence. }Demonstrations and protests in Prague and other cities all around the country. } } }Call for the step down of communist leaders. }Civic Forum did not envision taking power. }However, no partner for the dialogue; CP was paralyzed (no leadership at all). }CP lost support of its militia; media; satellite parties. }Army was subordinated to CP; did not initiate move on its own (Minister of defense advised to use army in a Chinese Scenario). } }First step made by PM of federal government – beginning of talks with CF }CF did not want to govern rather wished legal and constitutional continuity – oversaw the process of change (committees; cancelation of the leading role of CP in the society). }New (transitional) government of ’National understanding’ (formerly15+5; then CP did not have majority and CF nominated its own executives). The main goal: leadership for the country until the first democratic election in 1990. }New president: Vaclav Havel (elected by acclamation) } }Transformation in the CEE belongs to the same historical democratization wave as Latin America and South Europe – the main contextual features were however different. ◦Most of the regimes belonged to (post)totalitarian branch of non-democratic regimes (LA and Iberia – mostly authoritative regimes). ◦Economies were predominantly state-controlled (contrast: economic freedoms in Latina America a Iberia). ◦Ethnic division and multi-national states.