Political scenario in Eastern Europe

Political scenario after the fall of communism

Eastern Europe countries are organised in secular Western-European-shaped states. Officially democracies, they are little trusted by their citizens, as political parties are usually seen as machines to acheive power, regardless of the real needs of society They differ from from Western parties in terms of structure: they sometimes lack defined membership or a specific political program. Only traditional communist parties seem to have a well-adjusted program as they have tried to establish a succession line from the original communist official parties. (KOSTELECKÚ, 2002). In some cases, real democracy (if ever existed one) has completely vanished, leading to hidden dictatorships (i.e United Russia, Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko in Belarus).

Parties are usually bound around a strong leader, as opposed to movements with collective leadership, which enjoy little influence. Low percentage of population actually votes (KOSTELECKÚ, 2002), which can be partially due to a lack of experience of the voters who sometimes can‘t find a party that represents them. Sometimes political programs can‘t be rationally assest as they are introduced in incoherent way: there’s no specific political program but just „symbols“, as Kostelecky argues.

The main trends, despite this apathy, of Eastern European countries can be explained, according to Kostelecky (2002) like in the following table:

Although it could be argued that, in real terms, for most EU countries there aren‘t many differences regarding economic programs (EU criteria define the agenda so that they can receive funds). These paternalistic policies by EU tend to reinforce the gap between Western-Eastern Europe and further legitimize the use of the term Eastern Europe.

Apart from that, we can also explore some new values that have appeared after the fall of communism and also converge within the political scenario, as they are usually part of the political discourse. These new values migh allow us to see a cohesion between European Countries opposed to Western countries:

• high level of religiosity

• high level of populism

• high level of racism and homophobia

Whether these similitudes are just mere coincidences or imply the birth of a new „Eastern Europe“ political sensibility and identity is yet to be discussed.

High level of religiosity in Eastern European Countries

• In general religiosity has remained equal or has grown in former Communist Eastern Europe Countries.

• While Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia have kept the same proportion of religious people or even diminished it, other countries have increased their number of believers: Russia, Serbia, Poland, Romania... What‘s more, the Church (whether Orthodox or Catholic) has gained social recognition and authority. Ex: Serbian president, when elected, asks for benediction of Serbian Orthodox Church patriarch, despite the fact that Serbia is officially a secular state (the same goes for Poland –Andrej Duda-)

Possible explanations for this rise in religiosity go as follows:

• Anxiety, economic uncertainty and lack of guidance after collapse of communist state.

• Legalization of the Church after strong anti-religious repression (Lithuania).

• Building of a national identity (Poland).

High level of homophobia

This high level of homophobia across Eastern Europe might be linked to a rise in religiosity, consolidation of authoritarian models that give little space for free personal relationships, a new identity based on the negation of „Western values“.... References:

• KOSTELECKY, Tomáš. 2002. Political Parties after Communism: Developments in East-Central Europe.Washington, D.C: Woodrow Wilson Center Press.