People and Politics

Abstract

The events which rippled or ricochetted throughout East-Central Europe during 1989 and 1990 can indeed be seen to have placed ‘the people’ firmly back onto the political agenda. This chapter seeks to consider two broad areas: (a) the redefinitions of boundaries between state structures and civil societies including some emerging societal reactions to the development of new political structures; and (b) the developments and activities of several ‘new’ social movements with particular reference to women’s activities and movements towards change.