Includes bibliographical references and index.

Front Matter -- Preliminary Material / Editor: András Sajó -- Contributors / Editor: András Sajó -- Erosion and Decline of the Rule of Law in Post-Communism: An Introduction / Author: András Sajó -- 1 Transitional Justice as Liberal Narrative / Author: Ruti Teitel -- 2 Hungarian Criminal Court Cases Concerning the (Retribution of the) 1956 Revolution / Author: Krisztina Morvai -- 3 Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa: The Third Way / Author: Alex Boraine -- 4 Justice without Punishment: Guaranteeing Human Rights in Transitional Societies / Author: Paul van Zyl -- 5 Constitutional Democracy or How to Prevent the Rule of the People / Author: Nenad Dimitrijević -- 6 The Democratic Limits to Authoritarianism in Democracy (When the State Knows Better What is Good for the People) / Author: Leszek Lech Garlicki -- 7 The Making of the Hungarian Constitution / Author: Gábor Haimai -- 8 The Inherent Authoritarianism in Democratic Regimes / Author: Richard H. Pildes -- 9 Police Power for a New Century? Constitutional Traps and Constitutional Options Regarding Some Authoritarian Trends in Police Law / Author: Susanne Baer -- 10 Losing Track of Democracy: Post-Totalitarian Policing in Hungary / Author: István Szikinger -- 11 Public Administration and the Tendency to Authoritarianism / Author: Denis J. Galligan -- 12 On Post-Fascism: How Citizenship is Becoming an Exclusive Privilege / Author: G.M. Tamás -- 13 The Quality of Civility: Post-Anti-Communist Thoughts on Civil Society and the Rule of Law / Author: Martin Krygier -- 14 The Unmaking of Hungarian Constitutionalism? / Author: Gábor Haimai -- 15 The Republic of Belarus: The Road from the Past to the Past / Author: Alexander Vashkevich.

The essays in this collection reflect on the promises, hopes and fears dominant in the narratives on and realities of doing away with authoritarian regimes. The experiences of post-communist transition are matched with accounts on authoritarian traits present in established constitutional democracies and on authoritarian inclusions preserved in the new regimes in the post-transition phase. The essays combine first-hand insider accounts with interdisciplinary scholarly analysis. The first part of the collection focuses on considerations marking the way out of authoritarian - not restricted to socialist - regimes. The second part centers around experiences and problems which surface following the days of totalitarianism, both in newly emerged democracies and in well-established constitutional systems. Issues covered range from police practices to the role of the 'people' in post-authoritarian regimes. The dilemma transparent in all essays is whether 'coming out' of authoritarianism is possible at all.

Description based on print version record.