ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book concentrates on a question which most theorists have neglected: the variation in the processes by which the different regimes collapsed in 1989, and the reasons for this. It incorporates the concept of political openings into the author's framework. The book examines the model designed both to show the underlying causes of the collapse and to explain the trichotomy between revolution, democratization, and continued authoritarian rule. It describes the economic crisis was instrumental for the collapse, while others deny the existence of an economic crisis. The book explains more closely at the relationship between economics and politics, in particular the connection between a diminished economic performance and the loss of ideological legitimacy. It looks at the civil society explanations of change in Eastern Europe. The book focuses on the institutional compromises in Poland and Hungary.
