Transformation
| 12:48 UK time, Tuesday, 13 February 2007
It would be nice to think that nearly 18 years after the start of the process which brought Eastern European Communism to an end and more than eleven years since the fighting stopped in Bosnia, the countries of the region were reaching the end of the phase known as 'transition'.
In some cases, that might be said: Hungary and the Czech Republic, for example, have democracies - but they are .
Slovenia is stable and successful. But the other nations in the region, especially those that went through war, are still facing uncertain futures.
We don't report that much these days - there are other more desperate nations that push their way into our headlines day by day.
Professor Zoran Pajic, one of the commentators who made the most sense during the Balkan wars, explains in the latest edition of , just how long it takes to move from no democracy to sustainable, open politics.
Zoran writes:
"While the transition so far has included dismantling of communist political structures and getting rid of one-party authoritarian rule, transformation is going to be much more complex.
"It involves state-building and good governance based on the rule of law, human rights, and civil liberties; a free-market economy; pluralistic democracy; and above all, socio-cultural changes and acceptance of new values and responsibilities across the board."
Politicians have to learn to give up their privileges. Winners of elections have to learn how to engage with the losers in a political process that creates a forward momentum. Citizens have to give up dreams of security from ethnic purity. And everyone has to learn to trust that the rules will be the same on Wednesday as they were on Tuesday.
It takes a long time.
But in the frenzied spiralling of news cycles, we don't mention that very often.
