Contract democracy versus negotiated change - How the impossible became possible

The object of this analysis is to explain and classify the outcomes of the processes of change that led to the downfall of authoritarian rule in Polan d and Hungary in 1989/1990. The theoretical framework is Theory of Negotiat ed Change (Przeworski 1992 og O'Donnell & Schmitter 1993). Our focus is on how the interaction between the actors in processes of chan ge - and the actors' different interests - affected the shaping of the new institutional arrangements, and thus the outcomes of the processes in Polan d and Hungary. The analysis shows that democratisation was the result of a process that th e power elites started without intending to do so: The contextual framework affected the character and outcome of the negotiations, while misperceptio ns and coincidences created a situation where the people were given power. Free elections on the agenda convey institutionalisation of uncertainty and it is the voting power of the people that thus turns elite agreements into change from authoritarian rule to democracy.