Laws and Policies—Enabling or Withholding the Development of the Culture of Constitutional Democracy

New regulations and policies can hardly change the attitude of people in former communist countries as fast as a law can be passed, but they can certainly have some influence on the development of the political culture of the society. Bad laws and policies can preserve long-standing tendencies of state secrecy, undue political influence in media, lack of civic courage, and fear of speaking really freely. Good laws and policies can have the opposite result.

This article, published by Peter Molnar in the International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society (IJPS) will analyze how international and national legislation and their application influence the development of fundamental elements of a constitutional democracy in newer democracies. It will provide a typology of how law can influence the cultural environment necessary for a well-functioning constitutional democracy, assuming that such a democracy is the best possible framework for human communities.