Democracy in Transition: A Micro perspective on System Change in Post-Socialist Societies

Abstract

This paper examines how the system change following the collapse of socialism affected the political outlook of citizens by comparing the satisfaction with democracy among several generations of Eastern Europeans. I investigate whether people who were mainly influenced by a socialist upbringing have problems with adjusting to the circumstances of democratic regimes or, alternatively, whether the consolidation of democracy is driven by economic considerations. Using pooled cross-sectional data covering the period from 1990 to 2003, this study employs generalized additive models, which allow the separation of generational differences. The paper obtains strong support for the socialist socialization hypothesis, but also finds evidence that Eastern Europeans' assessment of the economic situation reduces the impact of generational differences on democratic support. This research provides important insights into the micro mechanisms underlying system change from authoritarian regimes to democracy.

Political participation in European countries: The effect of authoritarian rule, corruption, lack of good governance and economic downturn

“…In this regard, we side with the conclusions from Neundorf (2010Neundorf ( : 1107 that economic prosperity strongly reduces the effect of socialization under authoritarian rule. From a policy perspective, this would imply that if the Central and Eastern…”

“…Since the citizens of the authoritarian regimes never learned to express their opinions in a free manner, this is a habit that they will not take up at a later age. It has to be noted however, that some authors have also expressed the opposite hypothesis: it is assumed that especially older age groups that were socialized during the hardship of authoritarian rule, will have a much more positive view of current democratic practices (Neundorf, 2010). For the current analysis, however, this does not make a difference, as we still expect that the main difference will occur between the age groups that were socialized during authoritarian rule, and those that were politically socialized more recently.…”

“…The fact that economic prosperity did not always develop as expected in these countries, therefore might have a detrimental effect on participation levels. Neundorf (2010Neundorf ( : 1077 even argues that the fact that this economic downturn did not match rising aspirations is one of the main causes for the discontent with the current system in Central and Eastern Europe: "It seems that the most persuasive argument for accepting the new democratic system is a flourishing economy. If people are well off, they seem to be less inclined to turn back to their old system.…”

“…The pessimistic mood finds it origin in the observation that political participation levels remain rather low in the formerly authoritarian regimes of Central and Eastern Europe. Despite the fact that these countries are democratic for more than two decades by now, that democratic elections have been held on a regular basis, and despite the fact that most countries have become a member state of the European Union, thus protecting basic human rights in a structural manner, political participation levels remain low, and there are very few indications these levels would rise in the near future (White & McAllister, 2007;Pacek, Pop-Eleches & Tucker, 2009;Neundorf, 2010).…”

Thatcher’s Children, Blair’s Babies, Political Socialization and Trickle-down Value Change: An Age, Period and Cohort Analysis

“…41 Grasso 2014. 42 Grasso 2011Grasso , 2014Neundorf 2010;Shorrocks 2016;Tilley 2001Tilley , 2002Tilley , 2003. 43 Grasso 2014.…”