By 1989 it was obvious that the majority of Hungary's population wanted fundamental political economic and social changes. The situation resembled what prevailed in 1956 in Hungary, when massive Soviet aggression suppressed a newborn democracy. This time it was totally up to the Hungarians. This volume by leading Hungarian and Western scholars exposes the political, economic, moral, legal judicial and cultural components of the peaceful transition that over a ten-year period led to genuine democracy in Hungary.