Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction: The Paradox of the Polish Transition Chapter 2 Changing Arenas, Changing Players Chapter 3 Setting the Stage for the Round Table: The Polish Context Chapter 4 A New Political Playing Field: The Negotiating Arena Chapter 5 The Players of the Round Table Chapter 6 The Negotiations and Their Outcome Chapter 7 An Unexpectedly Competitive Arena: The 1989 Elections Chapter 8 Campaign: Rulers and Opposition Confront a New Game Chapter 9 Polish Voters Speak and the Players Respond Chapter 10 Changing Power: The Legacies and Lessons of the Round Table

About the Author

Marjorie Castle has taught at Temple University, Tulane University, and the University of Utah.

Reviews

Poland's transition from communism to democratic government was a critical signal that the rejection of communism throughout Eastern Europe was possible, yet many Poles view the transition process and its outcome as a disappointment, rather than a moment of national pride. Marjorie Castle investigates this paradox by examining the Polish roundtable discussions between the communist regime and a coalition of opposition groups in 1989 that led to the election in August 1989 of the first noncommunist head of government in eastern Europe, Solidarity adviser Tadeusz Mazowiecki. . . . Castle's analysis of the roundtable is a welcome addition, and probably the most comprehensive such investigation in English. Her discussion is fluid and engaging—practically a page-turner.
*Slavic Review*

An excellent analysis of the 1989 elections in Poland that heralded the beginning of the anticommunist revolutions in that year within Eastern Europe.
*CHOICE*