From Elections to Democracy in Central Europe: Public Participation and the Role of Civil Society

Abstract

The new European Union member states in Eastern Europe do not have fully consolidated democracies. True, popularly elected legislatures are responsible for lawmaking, and citizens can challenge the case-by-case implementation of the law. But most statutes are not self-implementing. Before they can be put into effect, governments need to issue general regulations and guidelines that add specificity to the statutory scheme. At present, this type of government policy making often is not democratically accountable. Procedures inside government lack transparency and accountability, and organized civil society groups that are engaged in advocacy and oversight are few in number and often weakly institutionalized. The Central European experience has lessons for countries further to the east that are poorer and less democratic. Here, full-fledged public participation in the government rule making may not be feasible, but other aspects of the transition to democracy in Central Europe may provide relevant models—for instance, external pressure, government oversight institutions, and grassroots democracy.