Acceleration of history, political instabilities, and media change

Abstract

This chapter provides a critical interpretation of political and social transition in post-communist Europe. It mostly looks at media transformations and argues that change goes deeper than just an institutional revision and adaptation, and in fact affects public perceptions and wider social and cultural changes. It argues that transitional societies are especially susceptible to instability and risk, which is a result of speedy institutional development and the choices made by key elite groups as well as the general public. CEE societies can be looked at as a ‘test case’, a kind of ‘experimental group of countries’, or even a new type of ‘social laboratory’, where countless controversies of postmodern life, such as increasing individualization and group polarization, are observed, identified, and tested.