De la „lagărul sovietic” la „Noul Occident”: 35 de ani de la căderea comunismului în Europa

The study analyses the main transformations of Central and Eastern Europe from the fall of communism to the present. The main conclusion is that the states of the former Soviet bloc have become the New West, after their accession to NATO and the European Union. The democratization process took place in all countries, with new constitutions and political institutions being adopted, and new political ideologies. However, the consensus of liberal democracy was shaken by the emergence of illiberalism, which became state policy in Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The institutions and rules of the market economy were adopted, and Western companies occupied the leading economic positions in post-communist Europe. A major problem of post-communist Europe is that most of them are affected by population decline and aging or, at best, stagnation (Poland). The social uniformity of communism was quickly destroyed, with new social categories emerging, such as that of coaches. The main phenomenon was social polarization, with social solidarity being affected by the emergence of a small group of very wealthy people. As such, nostalgia for communism is a widespread phenomenon in the region, despite the numerous policies of transitional justice (lustration, exposure of agents and collaborators of the political police).