ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at Poland's extended prelude to transition. It examines the events surrounding the final breakdown of the ancient regime in 1988-1989 and the actual transfer of power, including the external context in which it evolved. The chapter analyzes the political and economic dimensions of the first six years of postcommunist rule. It assesses the prospects for the consolidation of democracy in Poland. In the 1970 Baltic port riots, the situation was reversed when worker protests against steep food price increases, announced just before the Christmas holidays, were not supported by the intellectuals. The strikes were brutally suppressed; but this time Gomulka did not survive in office. The August 1980 strikes marked a major turning point, not only in Polish domestic politics but in Polish-Soviet relations and Soviet-East European relations generally. Electoral aftershocks nearly derailed the transition process, which was ultimately salvaged by a combination of bold initiative, calculated compromise, and judicious Soviet intervention.
