THE INFLUENCE OF THE LUSTRATION PROCESSES ON THE POSTCOMMUNIST TRANSITIONS IN EUROPE

Abstract

The fall of the Berlin Wall opened the gate to democracy for the post-communist countries in Europe. However, the road towards democracy in all post-communist countries in Europe proved to be very difficult. One of the main questions concerning democracy was what to do with the problematic communist totalitarian past: to forgive and forget or to punish and remember. Most of the post-communist countries in Europe decided to punish and remember their communist past. That is why 14 countries in Europe decided to implement the process of lustration in order to confront with their communist past. There is a huge diversity in the way and the time lustration has been enforced. Some countries decided to implement this controversial mechanism immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall, while others decided to do this many years after the beginning of transition. Some of them decided to ground the lustration processes on retributive justice while others decided to connect lustration with restorative justice. In addition to the diversity of manner and time lustration was enforced, there is a diversity of implementation effects. In some countries, lustration has improved democracy, but in others, it has split the county and had a negative impact on democracy. The paper deals with the manner and time of lustration in post-communist countries in Europe, and with the effects of implementation on democratic consolidation. The main methods used include analysis, historical, normative and political method. The conclusion is that although the process of lustration leaves plenty of space for manipulation, well-implemented and well-regulated lustration, following the recommendations of the Council of Europe, has had a positive impact on democratic consolidation of the post-communist countries.