PARADOXES OF INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT - THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARLIAMENTS OF CENTRAL-EUROPE

The parliaments of newly democratic Central Europe face six paradoxes of institutional development: new members in outmoded facilities; from monocentric party to multi-party systems; new conflicts and old rules ; committees as structures of expertise and power; executive puzzle of ''president, cabinet and parliament''; and active parliament and disb elieving public. These institutional paradoxes result from and are con tained within, the grand paradox of the opportunity/capability gap whi ch faces all newly active parliaments, but which is experienced most a cutely in the post-communist democracies. This article reviews the exp erience of the new Central European parliaments in the early years of their post-communist democracy.