At the beginning of the 1990s, Ralf Dahrendorf outlined that political or constitutional
changes can be made in 6 months, economic reforms over 6 years, and solid democratic
foundations, in the form of an active civil society in 60 years. The political culture
of consensus or its absence critically influence the way that transformations are
made, the formation of political structures. Why did illiberal political systems emerge
in Central Europe, especially in Hungary? The paper will mainly try to analyse the
social/cultural factors behind the political institutional changes. Can the democracy
be learned? What factors influence the learning-capacity of post-communist societies?
Can a democratic political system that negates liberal values be reconciled with contemporary
theories of democracy?
