Аннотация:This article is researching actual problems of democracy in Eastern Europe. Author analysis basic conceptual approaches to the problem of democracy and democratization in Latin America and Eastern Europe. The original essays are divided into three parts. Part One introduces a wide range of concepts and theories of democratization in general. Part Two is thematic; it focuses on dimensions of democratization that have been highlighted in the Eastern European context: legacies of communism, the role of economic reforms, the choice of political institutions, nationalism, and international influences on the democratization of Central and Eastern Europe. Part Three takes up the single most important controversy in post-communist studies - how democratic are post-socialist democracies? The collection is very up-to-date, and covers the latest work in both democratization and area studies.