ABSTRACT
Thirteen years have elapsed since the conclusion of the round table talks in Poland in April 1989, which marked the onset of systemic transformations in Central and Eastern Europe. The peoples of the region have been given a chance to overcome the blind alley of the Soviet model and return to the mainstream of human development. This span of time is long enough to allow for some theoretical generalizations. In the present study we analyze the present state of ‘transitology’, at a time when the frontrunners of change are likely to join the European Union by 2004, thus establishing their position as fully-fledged market economies of the European brand. This is a decisive factor in the formation of their economic and political order, allowing them to avoid that particular variant of ‘east European capitalism’ which has evolved in the countries that do jjot stand a chance of EU accession in the near future and thus miss an anchor for their strategic decisions in the spheres of policy and economy.
