La importancia de la sociedad civil.

Es interesantísimo este artículo de Shlomo Avineri, que aparece en EuropeSun, sobre la importancia de la existencia de una sociedad civil fuerte para el establecimiento de la democracia.

Para los que no sepan inglés, viene a decir que los antiguos países comunistas que antes de serlo tenían una sociedad civil desarrollada, han hecho mejor la transición a la democracia que los que no la tenían.

Finalmente, y por este mismo motivo, se muestra poco optimista con el futuro democrático de Irak. Aunque curiosamente, sí con el de Irán.

Fuente: EuropeSun

Original en inglés. Esto es un resumen.

«Developments in post-communist societies, however, have been more much complex. While some countries such as Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic are prime examples and have moved successfully towards democracy and a reasonably functioning market economy, this is far from being the general rule. Romania and Bulgaria are still struggling with transition, as is Ukraine, while Russia has moved into an autocratic ambit with the Central Asian former Soviet republics - as well as Belarus – developing into an almost “sultanistic” authoritarianism.

What is the reason for these deep differences between societies? After all, only 15 years ago all had been one-party states, with a command economy and almost total control of the means of communication.

It is obvious that the answer cannot be found in economic or other quantifiable factors, like industrial development or degrees of urbanisation. Instead one has to look at history and what those countries had been before the communists came to power, either in 1917 or 1945-47. It is clear that those countries with a history of a relatively developed civil society, the transition to democracy was possible, whereas those which had no such antecedents, experienced great difficulties.» (continúa)