The first of the Yugoslav successor states to succeed in building a 
democratic system and to enter the European Union, Slovenia stands 
as a model for democratic transition. Here, Ramet and Fink-Hafner 
have assembled a team of outstanding specialists to analyze various 
aspects of the country's transformation from socialism to democracy.

    The editors note that while a great deal has been written on 
political and economic questions, relatively little attention has been 
paid to the transformation and transmission of values and norms in 
Eastern Europe over the past fifteen years. Slovenia's experience 
demonstrates how a small country has created the preconditions 
necessary to the construction of a civic, democratic culture. Six 
values are emphasized as central to this project: tolerance, equality, 
church-state separation, respect for democratic procedure and the 
rule of law, human rights, and civic-mindedness.

    The volume editors join the other contributors in discussing the 
manner in which Slovenia has set out to build democracy, the ways 
in which values are transmitted, the role of the media in a free 
society, the structure of educational systems, and other questions 
that concern anyone who aspires to live in an open, democratic 
society.  

_________________________________________________________

SABRINA P. RAMET is a professor of political science at the 
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in 
Trondheim, Norway, and a senior associate of the Centre for the 
Study of Civil War, PRIO, Oslo. She studied philosophy at Stanford 
University and earned her Ph.D. in political science from UCLA. 
DANICA FINK-HAFNER is professor of political parties, interest 
groups, and policy analysis at the University of Ljubljana.


Eugenia and Hugh M. Stewart '26 Series on Eastern Europe


What people are saying about this book

". . . presents a valuable assessment of how Slovenia has been 
transformed, or not, in the decade since declaring independence in 
1991. . . ."—Carole Rogel, Professor Emeritus, Ohio State University