Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyzes contemporary attempts to establish democracies in Argentina, Romania, Poland, and Russia. It argues that the societal factors that shaped the outcome were indeed different than in the English case. The book emphasizes individuals again played crucial roles, and their choices created and shaped each new system in a variety of ways. It focuses on the political-economic causes of the transition from military rule to a democratic regime and the structural results for Argentine society. The book shows how the strategies and choices of specific individuals, notably Presidents Raiil Alfonsin and Carlos Menem, were major factors in the creation and survival of the democratic system and in the widespread disappointment engendered by Argentina's continuing economic inequities. It surveys the communist period, including the devastating effects of the totalitarian regime of Nicolae Ceausescu and his violent overthrow.