Communist Legacies and Regionalization

Abstract

Studies of transition generally focus more on the immediate events and processes and less on the historical background which shapes it. Nevertheless, historical legacies and the extent to which a transition state has a ‘usable past’ are generally recognized as having an important bearing on the transition outcome.1 The term ‘historical legacy’ and the issue of ‘usability’ are, however, not systematically researched in the study of transition. Paradoxically, the more routinely employed concepts of ‘path dependency’ and ‘initial starting conditions’ tend to focus on the predetermining effects of decisions taken at the outset of the transition process rather than exploring the influence of historically rooted factors which may be equally important.2 Moreover, it is also important to take into account not only whether a ‘usable past’ is present in a particular case but also whether the elites that drive the transition process are willing to draw on it. The decisional calculus of elites is of central importance in transition studies as successful reforms are viewed as being largely dependent on the attitudes and behaviour of elites and how differences between elite segments are negotiated in the ‘games’ of transition.3