Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Human Rights Law
Rebirth Of A Nation: The Difficulties Of Transition In Eastern And Central Europe, J. French Hill
Rebirth Of A Nation: The Difficulties Of Transition In Eastern And Central Europe, J. French Hill
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
The 1980s will go down in history as the Decade of Democracy. Latin America, Europe, and even parts of Africa saw remarkable gains in political pluralism and individual freedoms, but nowhere was this more pronounced than in central and eastern Europe and the Balkans.
As Timothy Garton Ash chronicled in his inspiring essays, The Magic Lantern, the movements of a people from totalitarianism to freedom were remarkably peaceful. Once started, the speed was breathtaking. This dash toward freedom is epitomized in Ash's quip made famous by playwright, turned President, Vaclav Havel: "In Poland it took ten years, in Hungary ten …