Socialisation means the understanding of a culture and its norms and how one either lives within a culture or challenges it. It is not a concept that is given much attention today in the West, mainly because of its association with the American functional tradition of sociology and the latter's perceived failure to address issues of gender, race and class within the framework of socialisation. The sociologist Roland Warren, however, locates his writing on socialisation within a strong community context: and, as explained in Chapter Two, we are using his community model as the conceptual framework for Chapters Four to Eight.

It is the community perspective on socialisation that informs this chapter. The topic does not figure much in community development literature. It is important, therefore, to appreciate why it has significance in central and eastern Europe. The starting point is the democratic deficit and lack of solidarity that are on the political agendas of all European countries, but the problems in the new European democracies present themselves in a more direct way than in the old democracies. This chapter focuses on dilemmas and practice in the central and eastern European region and traces the capacity in Hungary to link socialisation with community development.

While there are significant differences across the region, practice is similar and trends and patterns can be identified. What stands out is the struggle to achieve meaningful social and cultural change. ‘Transition from one type of culture to another’ is how Attila Gergely, a Hungarian sociologist, describes the shift needed as a consequence of the systemic change resulting from the regime change. The key question concerns the pace at which central and eastern European societies can adjust. The uneasy social atmosphere, lack of confidence, frustration, low levels of social participation and still lower citizen participation are all factors that indicate what Gergely refers to as the deficit of a whole culture and the failure of its ‘re-culturing’ processes (Gergely, 1991, p 4).