East-Central Europe: The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland

Abstract

Bulgaria, Romania, Albania and all or most of the former Yugoslavia comprise an area of south-eastern Europe known as the Balkans. It is one where the implantation of democracy has faced long-term obstacles much greater than those encountered by the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Foreign invasions and occupations stunted the development of indigenous institutions (other than the Orthodox Church) and hampered the development of Western concepts of individual freedom. The long Ottoman subjugation and the resultant wars between the Ottoman empire and rival powers caused many population shifts, both voluntary and involuntary. The complex distribution of languages, religions, and nationalities meant that the Balkans was an ethnographic mosaic which made orderly government difficult to sustain, whatever type of political system was in place.