The course examines trajectories of development of East European countries that  in 1989-1991  overthrew communist dictatorship and opted for substantially different political  social  and economic directions It examines the appropriateness of various theories of democratic transition and to discover new explanation for specific developments  investigating to what extent they are determined by the past experience of the country  its political culture and social capital and to what extent they are determined  here and now  by the people’s will and their leaders’ skill  comprehensive reforms  domestic actors and international assistance