From euphoria to depression: Changing attitudes towards market reform and political reform in the Czech Republic in comparative perspective 1992-1998

Abstract: The paper looks at the attitudes of the Czech mass public towards basic political and economic transformations in the period between 1992 and 1998 on the one hand and how similar or different these attitudinal patterns are from other post-Communist societies in the same longitudinal comparison, on the other hand. The paper considers factors affecting these different attitudes and sets this in the context of the different paths of transition undertaken by the Czech Republic in contrastto other post-Communist countries. The paper is based upon a research programme consisting of representative sample surveys in 10 countries carried out on a regular basis since 1992. Apart from the Czech Republic, the New Democracies Barometer includes the following countries: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Belarus and Ukraine.;