ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the interaction between policies of regimes before 1988 and society. It explains the degree of liberalization reached by a society. The chapter examines the development of society before 1988 in the reformist and anti-reformist countries. It describes that the Evangelical Church generally wanted cordial relations with the regime, although some pastors allowed alternative groups to use their facilities. The chapter shows that the Polish and Hungarian regimes, which had a reformist pragmatic acceptance, also created more open societies. It discusses the degree of liberalization of society in general, rather than civil society in particular. Yet, under liberalizing regimes as in Poland and Hungary in the 1980s, universities could and did become centers for critical opinion. The German Democratic Republic and Ceskoslovenska socialisticka republika were much less open societies than were Poland and Hungary. The regimes with a reformist pragmatic acceptance liberalized their society, which in turn allowed society to influence the policies of the regime.
