Constraints and Opportunities of Leadership in Post-Communist Europe by Tim Haughton (review)

Abstract

i86 SEER, 86, I, 2008 security, not least in respect of the former Soviet 'loose nukes'; in both respects, he did pretty well. Russian specialists may also have particular quarrels about the account given here of thepossibilities for real democratiza tion in this era. Itmay also be feltby some that the book's theoretical and conceptual framework ? rooted in competing versions of decision-making theory ? is a little too intrusive, and too redolent of this study's origins as a doctoral thesis. It is also not entirely clear why, ifdecision-making theory is to be taken so seriously, the author steers so far clear of International Relations theory.After all, at one level, thisbook represents an exemplifica tion of tenets of traditional realism.Marsden also does not really engage with the huge literature, reaching back toThomas Jefferson, on ideals and interests inAmerican foreign policy. My own view is that this is an outstandingly good piece of research. Inter nal Clinton Administration documents are not yet available for academic investigation. The Clinton Presidential Library in Litde Rock, Arkansas, is unlikely to offermuch in the foreseeable future to researchers intoClinton's foreign policy. Lee Marsden demonstrates what can be achieved by conscien tious reading of published public records, and by tracking down willing interviewees. Lessonsfrom Russia is a very important contribution, primarily, to the foreign policy historiography of the Clinton Administration. It also deserves to be taken seriously by non-Americanists who wish to understand how Russia fared in the 1990s. Department of Politics and International Relations JohnDumbrell UniversityofLeicester Haughton, Tim. Constraints and OpportunitiesofLeadership in Post-Communist Europe. Ashgate, Aldershot and Burlington, VT, 2005. x + r76 pp. Figures. Tables. Notes. Bibliography. Index. ?47.50. For almost a decade after thevelvet divorce ofCzechoslovakia (January 1993), the Slovak Republic appeared to be the 'black sheep' of Central Europe. Largely surrounded by successful reformers and candidates of early accession toNATO and the European Union, Slovakia lagged behind, strugglingwith its totalitarian past and its authoritarian present. Vladimir Meciar was Slova kia's towering political figure from the early 1990s onwards. He was not only primarily responsible for the course ofpost-Communist change during thefirst decade of independence but, consequently, also for the country's rather nega tive reputation abroad. But how important, how powerful was Meciar? In Constraintsand Opportunities of Leadership inPost-Communist Europe Tim Haughton explores the limitsand the possibilities of political leadership in the context of early post-Communist change. What role did Meciar play in determining the trajectory of Slovak politics in the 1990s? Based on interviewswith key political figures, and on primary and secondary sources, Constraints and Opportunities adds not only to our knowledge of the political processes of this small Central European country, but also offers theoretical insight into the semi-authoritarian regime-type Meciar's Slovakia represented. REVIEWS 187 Meciar was a controversial politician. Unknown until 1989, he rapidly assumed a political career after the fall of theCommunist regime inNovem ber. Thanks to his legal background and his political contacts he firstbecame Slovak InteriorMinister (January 1990) and then Prime Minister (June 1990), only to be dismissed inApril 1991 by the anti-Communist umbrella organi zation Public Against Violence, which had initially nominated him. Subsequently, Meciar founded his own political party (theMovement for a Democratic Slovakia, HZDS). He won the 1992 general elections, and made his comeback as premier later that same year. He would dominate Slovak politics during most of the decade. He presided over the Slovak government in 1992-94 and 1994-98 and was acting president in 1993 and 1998.Meciar's political stylewas forceful, ifnot rough and authoritarian. But itwould be unfair, Haughton stresses, to reduce his actions to a simple thirst for power. Not only did Meciar (mostly)play by the democratic rules (i.e. leaving office after electoral defeat), but his motives and ambitions, shared by a substantial part of the Slovak nation, went beyond the aim of achieving power for the sake of power. 'He was driven inpart by his vision of a strong, dynamic and proud Slovakia,' Haughton asserts, 'and worked ceaselessly to achieve it' (p. 14). The political role and relevance ofMeciar can best be understood within the framework of a structural...