THE PLACE OF PARTY IN POSTCOMMUNIST EUROPE

Using data from a survey of almost 6000 voters in five post-communist countries (Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic) designed by the authors and carried out in November and December 1993, the authors review evidence about citizens' formal commitment to part ies compared with other forms of civic activity; about depth of trust in political parties; the effectiveness of action through political pa rties; desirable forms of party competition; and the depth of party id entification in post-communist Europe. They conclude that while the de gree of hostility to political parties remains significant, and identi fication remains low in comparative perspective, in none of the countr ies is there a desire among mass publics to see an end to party compet ition, and the place of party is in any event secured by elite consens us.