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The paper looks into both aspects of contemporary political culture of Central-East European countries in the period after the breakdown of communist dictatorship and some theoretical assumptions. The author tries to demonstrate historical and today’s influences that determine attitudes of people toward political system.
Design/Methodology/Approach: The analysis is based on the classical Almond and  Verba’s behavioural concept.  Subsequently, the usefulness of this theory and the need  to its reformulation have been discussed.
Findings: Firstly, the author examines the question of how the legacy of non-democratic regimes before 1989 influenced today’s attitude of citizens toward politics. We can, preliminarily, utter a generally accepted surmise according to which a quasi-participation or non-effective participation and relatively closed input-side of the political systems (structural variables) significantly have affected citizens’ behavior in the sphere of public affairs, in the post-communist era (cultural variables). For that matter, some basic facets of political cultures of selected cases in the region (Poland, Hungary, former East-Germany and the Czech Republic) has been demonstrated. Secondly, the effect of today’s dominant neo-liberal discourse on the political cultures has been investigated. In this respect, several questions arise.  Not only should we ask about the impact of neo-liberalism on citizens and on their role in political process, but also ponder over the continuity or discontinuity with the previous (pre- revolutionary) discourse.
Research Limitations/Implications: The research is generally limited by the lack of sociological data from the pre-revolutionary period.
Practical Implications: The findings could problematize the thesis on the so called “cultural lag”, which is the leitmotif of the discussed classic concept.
Originality/Value: Considering the “neoliberal turn” in the studied region (a primacy of the “economical” over the “political”), the author tries to contribute to the debate about the mutual relation of the cultural and structural variables.

Keywords

Political Culture; Post-Communism; Neo-Liberalism; Democracy.

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