Tina Rosenberg

The new democracies of Latin America and Eastern Europe are grappling with their dictatorial pasts_deciding whether to purge the old regimes' officials, hold truth commissions, open secret police files, or try the gunmen and leaders of tyranny. But the two regions face different threats. The Latin American democracies are too weak to keep the juntas from returning, while in Eastern Europe, the state is too strong, prone to authoritarian abuses reminiscent of the bad old days.