Ökonomische und politische Transformationen in Osteuropa: Der aktuelle Stand

The article examines the dilemma of the necessity to consolidate democratic structures by creating incentives for political forces to channel their interests into the democratic institutions, but the policy choices are tightly constrained by the economic crisis. The foreseeable future, however, does not offer the perspective of material improvements in Eastern Europe, despite all optimistic prognoses. Nevertheless, the democratic institutions already seem consolidated to an extent to which their existence is at least not threatened in short-term perspective