[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 165 (Tuesday, October 24, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2002-E2003]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         PROSPECTS FOR DEMOCRACY IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

                                 ______


                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 24, 1995

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, while we do not hear much about it, the 
struggle for democracy continues in Central and Eastern Europe. It is 
hard work, but it is important work because it affects the stability of 
Europe. Earlier this week, at a conference in Washington organized by 
Indiana University, a former colleague of ours, John Brademas, who 
represented the Third District of Indiana, delivered some very incisive 
remarks on the prospects for democracy in these countries. I commend 
these remarks to my colleagues.

          Can U.S.-Style Democracy Work in the CEE Republics?

       Allow me to welcome everyone to our panel on ``Can U.S. 
     Style Democracy Work in the CEE Republics?'', part of the 
     Indiana University International Forum on ``Economic, 
     Political & Military Security in Central and Eastern 
     Europe.''
       I congratulate Indiana University on its initiative in 
     organizing this Forum and I want to salute the Forum co-
     chairs, my fellow Hoosiers and distinguished former 
     colleagues, Senator Richard Lugar and Representative Lee 
     Hamilton; and to say how pleased I am that Congressman 
     Hamilton, a valued friend of many years, is serving on this 
     panel with Susan Atwood of the National Democratic Institute 
     and Charles Gati of Interinvest. I am pleased also that two 
     other friends, Rozanne Ridgeway and John Whitehead, both 
     outstanding public servants, are chairing the other two 
     panels at this Forum.


                                  ned

       At the outset, I would like to say a few words about why I 
     am particularly interested in the issue of promoting 
     democracy in Central and Eastern Europe and elsewhere.
       First, since 1993 I have been chairman of the National 
     Endowment for Democracy, one of the principal vehicles 
     through which American Presidents, Senators and 
     Representatives of both our political parties have sought 
     over the last decade to promote free, open and democratic 
     societies around the world.
       Founded in 1983 by Act of Congress, NED is a bipartisan, 
     non-governmental organization that champions, through grants 
     to private organizations in other countries, the institutions 
     of democracy. Although not a government entity, the Endowment 
     is financed by an annual appropriation by Congress. The 
     current budget is $34 million.
       I note that the National Endowment for Democracy is the 
     only private association in 

[[Page E 2003]]
     the country with two presidential candidates on its board, Senator 
     Richard Lugar and Malcolm S. Forbes, Jr., and I am also 
     pleased to add that our eminent keynote speaker today, 
     Zbigniew Brzezinski, is also a member of the NED board and 
     that Congressman Hamilton is one of our strongest 
     supporters on Capitol Hill.
       NED grants are made to organizations dedicated to promoting 
     the rule of law, free and fair elections, a free press, human 
     rights and the other components of a genuinely democratic 
     culture. The Endowment has a long-standing and successful 
     program of grants in Central, Southern and Eastern Europe.
       I also note that to expand its role as a center of ideas 
     about democracy, the National Endowment for Democracy 
     established in 1990 the quarterly Journal of Democracy and, 
     in 1994, the International Forum for Democratic Studies. The 
     Forum serves as a center for the study of democratic 
     developments, a repository of published research and 
     documents on democracy and an electronic communications 
     network for democratic thinkers and activists. The Forum's 
     staff conducts regular seminars and twice yearly holds a 
     major conference on a central issue in democracy-building. 
     Last August, for example, the International Forum co-hosted 
     in Taiwan a very successful conference on ``Consolidating the 
     Third Wave Democracies.''
       Of course, we must acknowledge that those of us in the West 
     who look to building democracy around the globe should not 
     assume that it is we who have all the answers.


                          culture of democracy

       Because of my interest in issues of democracy building, you 
     will not be surprised to hear that I believe we in the United 
     States as well as our compatriots in Eastern Europe must do 
     all we can to stimulate, in our own countries and abroad, a 
     culture of open and accountable government.
       This means, among other things, promoting the revival of 
     civil society through the creation of ``social capital.'' 
     ``Social capital,'' Professor Robert D. Putnam of Harvard 
     University, writing, by the way, in the Journal of Democracy, 
     describes the bonds of trust and cooperation that develop 
     among citizens actively involved in non-governmental 
     organizations and associations. And Putnam asserts that 
     activity in such voluntary associations generates involvement 
     in the institutions of democratic government.
       Building a culture of open and accountable government also 
     means encouraging respect for diversity of views and 
     tolerance of those of different racial, religious, ethnic and 
     national backgrounds.


                        orthodoxy and democracy

       Now, in this vein I want to close these introductory 
     remarks by briefly raising one issue, not widely discussed or 
     even acknowledged, concerning our topic--``Can U.S. Style 
     Democracy Work in the CEE Republics?''.
       The issue is whether the countries of the Balkans, with an 
     Eastern Orthodox heritage or ``civilization,'' as Samuel 
     Huntington would put it, are capable of building 
     fundamentally democratic institutions. Can those countries--
     the inheritors of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires--develop 
     a thriving civil society after decades of communist rule and 
     centuries of church-state interpenetration? Will the former 
     communist countries north and west of the Balkans be uniquely 
     successful in the transition to democracy because they have 
     inherited a different legacy, that of Western Christendom?
       It will not, I am sure, surprise you to hear that I believe 
     that Eastern Orthodoxy and ``Western'' democracy can be, 
     indeed, are compatible and can co-exist in harmony.
       First, as Richard Schifter has argued in his well-known 
     article, ``Is There a Democracy Gene?'', we have no reason to 
     assume that now that the ideas of the Enlightenment ``have at 
     long last been accepted by the West, they cannot spread any 
     further.'' Indeed, ``the onward march of the democratic 
     ideal,'' says Schifter, need not halt at ``the fault line of 
     Western civilization.''
       Second, I must note the obvious: Greece, of course, is the 
     birthplace of both Eastern Orthodoxy and democracy. Its 
     very existence and success give the lie to the idea that 
     these two traditions cannot be combined. If Greece can 
     throw off the ill effects of the heritage of what some 
     have described as ``non-European'' civilization, then it 
     should not be impossible for Serbs, Bulgarians, Romanians, 
     Ukrainians, even Russians, to overcome this ``burden.''
       Finally, as I have said, I take issue with the notion that 
     the Orthodox church, while often identified as a nationalist 
     institution, cannot play a productive role in developing a 
     lively civil society in the Balkan countries. Here I commend 
     to you an article by Elizabeth H. Prodromou of Princeton 
     University in Mediterranean Quarterly. Professor Prodromou 
     writes of utilizing Orthodox custom in crafting modern 
     democracy in East Central Europe and the Balkans. While 
     acknowledging ``a historical record that underscores the 
     failure of the Orthodox churches in the Balkans to assume an 
     activist stance in favor of democratic politics,'' Prodromou 
     argues for the potential to engage Orthodoxy in remaking 
     civil society and describes in detail ``Orthodoxy's emphasis 
     on freedom, community, and choice as values compatible with 
     democratic culture.''
       In other words, it is not enough to say that the peoples on 
     one side of an imagined dividing line have not heretofore 
     experienced democracy and therefore cannot or will not. 
     Particularly if one believes in a universality of Western 
     values--democracy, individual liberty, human rights, to name 
     a few--one must look not only to the potential but also to 
     the opportunities to construct the institutions of self-
     government and the habits of freedom.
       So against the background of these brief observations, I 
     should like to ask our panelists for their comments on the 
     question we've been assigned, ``Can U.S. Style Work in the 
     Central and Eastern European Republics?''.
       I'll ask each person to speak for five minutes and then 
     we'll engage in discussion.

                          ____________________