1. Course introduction (21 February)

2. Catching up with the West (28 February)

Required readings:

Kundera, M. (1984). “The Tragedy of Central Europe.” New York Review of Books 31 (7), Apr 26: 33–38.

Background readings:

Ekiert, G. (2015). “Three Generations of Research on Post Communist Politics: A Sketch.” East European Politics and Societies 29 (2): 323–337.
Gellner, E. 1997. "The Marriage of State and Culture." Pp. 50–58 in Gellner, E. Nationalism. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Kopecký, P., & Mudde, C. (2000). “What has Eastern Europe taught us about the democratisation literature (and vice versa)?” European Journal of Political Research 37 (4): 517–539.
Rupnik, J. (2010). “Central Europe or Mitteleuropa?” Daedalus 119 (1): 249–278.
Sztompka, P. (1996). “Looking Back The Year 1989 as a Cultural and Civilizational Break.” Communist and Post-Communist Studies 29 (2): 115 - 129.

Tismaneanu, V. (2009). “The Revolutions of 1989: Causes, Meanings, Consequences.” Contemporary European History 18 (3): 271–288
Blokker, Paul. (2005). "Post-Communist Modernization, Transition Studies, and Diversity in Europe." European Journal of Social Theory 8 (4): 503–525

Kopeček, Michal. (2002). "Politics, Antipolitics, and Czechs in Central Europe: The Idea of “Visegrád Cooperation” and Its Reflection in Czech Politics in the 1990s." In Questionable Returns, ed. A. Bove, Vienna: IWM Junior Visiting Fellows Conferences, Vol. 12.

3. Political Culture of CE (7 March)

Required readings:

Howard, M. M. (2002). “The Weakness of Postcommunist Civil Society.” Journal of Democracy 13 (1): 157–169.

Background readings:

Blokker, P. (2008). “Multiple Democracies: Political Cultures and Democratic Variety in Post-enlargement Europe.” Contemporary Politics 14 (2): 161–178.
Guasti, P. (2016). “Development of citizen participation in Central and Eastern Europe after the EU enlargement and economic crises.” Communist and Post-Communist Studies 49 (3): 219–231.
Letki, N. (2004). “Socialization for Participation? Trust, Membership, and Democratization in East-Central Europe.” Political Research Quarterly 57 (4): 665–679.
Rose-Ackerman, S. (2007). “From Elections to Democracy in Central Europe: Public Participation and the Role of Civil Society.” East European Politics and Societies 21 (1): 31–47.
Zakaria, P. (2013). ”Is Corruption an Enemy of Civil Society? The Case of Central and Eastern Europe.” International Political Science Review 34 (4): 351–371.

4. Building a Civil Society (14 March)

Required reading:

Devaux, S. (2009) “Involvement of the Czech Environmental Movements in the European Game.” Pp. 73–87 in Marty, P., S. Devaux. (eds.) Social Movements and Public Action: Lessons from Environmental Issues. Prague: CEFRES.

Background readings:

Börzel, T. A., A. Buzogány. (2010). “Governing EU Accession in Transition Countries: The Role of Non-state Actors.” Acta Politica 45(1–2): 158–182.
Císař, O., & Navrátil, J. (2015). "Promoting competition or cooperation? The impact of EU funding on Czech advocacy organizations". Democratization 22 (3): 536–559.
Diamond, L. (1994). "Toward Democratic Consolidation." Journal of Democracy 5 (3): 4 - 17.
Ekiert, G., J. Kubik. (2014). “The Legacies of 1989: Myths and Realities of Civil Society.” Journal of Democracy 25 (1): 46–58.
Fagan, A. (2005). "Taking stock of civil-society development in post-communist Europe Evidence from the Czech Republic." Democratization 12 (4): 528-547.
Kuti, É. (1999). "Different Eastern European Countries at Different Crossroads." Voluntas 10 (1): 51–60.
Mansfeldová, Z., Nałęcz, S., Priller, E., & Zimmer, A. (2013). "Civil Society in Transition: Civic Engagement and Nonprofit Organizations in Central and Eastern Europe after 1989." In A. Zimmer & E. Priller (Eds.), Future of Civil Society: making Central European nonprofit-organizations work (pp. 99–119).
Skovajsa, M. (2008). "Independent and Broader Civil Society in East-Central European Democratizations." Taiwan Journal of Democracy4(2): 47–73.

5. NGOs and Activism (21 March)

current trends in the civic sector: professionalization of NGOs vs. informal activism, networking, anti-Soros sentiments

Required readings:

Polanska, D.V. (2018). “Going against institutionalization: New forms of urban activism in Poland.” Journal of Urban Affairs. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2017.1422982

Background readings:

Císař, O., J. Navrátil. (2015). “Promoting Competition or Cooperation? The Impact of EU Funding on Czech Advocacy Organizations.” Democratization 22 (3): 1–40.
Jezierska, K. (2018). Performing Independence: The Apolitical Image of Polish Think Tanks.” Europe - Asia Studies 70 (3): 345–364.

Petrova, T., S. Tarrow. (2007). “Transactional and Participatory Activism in the Emerging European Polity: The Puzzle of East-Central Europe.” Comparative Political Studies 40 (1): 74–94.
Toepler, S., L. M. Salamon. (2003). “NGO Development in Central and Eastern Europe: An Empirical Overview.” East European Quarterly 37 (3): 365–378.

6. Democracy in the EU and the Public Sphere (28 March)

Required reading:

Koopmans, R. (2007).”Who inhabits the European public sphere? Winners and losers, supporters and opponents in Europeanised political debates.” European Journal of Political Research 46 (2): 183–207.

Further readings:

Batorski, D., & Grzywińska, I. (2018). Three dimensions of the public sphere on Facebook Three dimensions of the public sphere on Facebook. Information, Communication & Society, 21(3), 356–374.
Dahlgren, P. (2005). The Internet, Public Spheres, and Political Communication: Dispersion and Deliberation. Political Communication, 22(2), 147–162.
Fraser, N. (1990). Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Critique of Actually Existing Democracy. Social Text, 26(25/26), 56–80.
Fras