Democracy after 1989: Re-examining the History, Impact, and Legacy of Dissidence

The phenomenon of Central and East European dissidence is probably one of the more paradoxical chapters of European history. Starting from the humble beginnings of clandestine discussion circles and samizdat publications, dissident intellectuals managed to contribute to the dismantling of the Soviet empire and were thus propelled into international fame and sometimes even to high positions in their native countries’ political or cultural life. At the same time, though, the moment of the dissidents’ triumph is often also considered to have been the moment of their eclipse: one instance of this is that the events of 1989 are widely understood as a confirmation of Western political modernity and not as offering any new insights for our understanding of the theory and practice of democracy. Against this background, this special issue of EEPS brings together authors from different fields of the humanities and social sciences to reexamine the history and legacy of dissidence. A common concern of the individual contributions is to problematize the widely held view that dissident thought did ultimately amount to not much more than a corroboration of Western modernity.