The collapse of communism in eastern Europe set off an inevitable chain of political transitions. The abruptness of this change resulted in several stable communist societies' rapid deterioration into chaos and crisis. This text is divided into three sections. Firstly it examines Yugoslavia and the underlying forces that led to its disintegration. Then it presents a view of the Balkan countries immediately after the collapse of communism. And thirdly it focuses on various aspects of post-communist Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary.