Mass Movements and Plebiscitary Democracy: Political Change in Central Eastern Europe

High expectations of prompt establishment of stable parliamentary democracy in central eastern Europe (CEE) have been dashed by outbursts of populism. Such expectations were unrealistic. This paper argues that the key aspect of change in CEE involved first the mobilisation of mass protest movements and, subsequently, the ‘normalisation’ of these movements into new regimes. These processes are unlikely to lead directly to stable parliamentary democracies. Rather, as Max Weber's analyses suggest, the normalisation of mass movements leads in the direction of ‘plebiscitary democracy’. The development of stable parliamentary democracy in post-communist CEE is hindered by the residues of the very mass mobilisations which initiated the process of democratic change. © 1995, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.