ABSTRACT
Any analysis of the transformation process in the post-communist countries tends to reflect the subjective beliefs of the analyst more strongly than is the case with other research topics. This is in part a result of persistent flux in this region that hinders the development of a coherent theoretical framework for the exploration of the post-communist transformation. It is a matter of increasing contention within contemporary academic literature whether any theoretical framework could lead to a more objective evaluation. However, in the case of Slovakia, this postmodern dilemma has been not been terribly relevant because the unpredictable fluidity of political and socio-economic developments has rendered the Slovakian case a problematic one for analysis. Indeed, until 1998-9, Slovakia was regarded as the exception among the four Visegrad1
countries, i.e. the anomaly in central Europe. Observers of Slovakian politics and society habitually measure phenom-
ena with western yardsticks. Everything that broadly resembles “the western way” is perceived as normal and standard, while deviating features are regarded as strange and unorthodox.
