ABSTRACT
To discuss the processes, strategies, and obstacles to democratization in Hun-gary in the 1980s, we must differentiate between the problem levels. There is an interplay between external and internal factors; there are traditions of political culture; there are structural, economic, and social factors; there are options and strategies and institutional models within the democratization process (Vanhanen 1990), all of which play more or less crucial roles in shaping the outcome of the process. We can not analyze or discuss all these important aspects and determinants of the process of democratization within the framework of this brief sketch. What we shall attempt is to analyze the political transformation process in Hungary, to characterize the alternative models of democratization, and to summarize some factors countervailing the democratization process.
