ABSTRACT
At least a part of the reason for such misperceptions stems from a widespread tendency to identify political change with social change. When dealing with apparently similar institu tions in Western and postcommunist societies it is easy to assume the existence of similar attitudes, values, norms, and patterns of behaviors in the two populations. This tendency is reinforced by the perception o f the communist period in the history of East Europe as incidental and inconsequential for the societies that now, liberated from the constraints of the
to Europe” and the expectations of the West for equally fast
communist system, can just return to “normal” ways of social behavior.
