This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Elster, J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Reason, interest and passion in the East European transitions

The politics of transitions to democracy include both the forward-looking task of constitution-making and the backward-looking task of transitional justice. To study these processes and to explain their outcomes, one must among other things identify the motives of the political actors that are involved. Following the French moralists, the article tries to identify and assess the importance of interest, passion and reason as motives of the actors. The article also discusses the tendency for actors to misrepresent their motivations, and the frequent formation of alliances between actors animated by different motives that converge on specific policy issues.

Key Words: Constitutions • Democracy • Interest • Motivation • Passion • Purges • Reason • Transition • War trials

Social Science Information, Vol. 38, No. 4, 499-519 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/053901899038004001


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Z. Zafirovski The economic approach to human behaviour under scrutiny: an overview of arguments for the autonomy of social action Social Science Information, June 1, 2001; 40(2): 195 - 240. [Abstract] [PDF]