The features of political culture in post-communist Albania

Abstract

Studying the political culture of a country plays an explanatory role in understanding the dynamics of the political system, the birth and consolidation of democratic institutions in certain societies. The purpose of this paper is to argue that political culture in post-communist Albania is not congruent with the formal democratic institutions of the country, because this political culture has inherited many influences during the communist totalitarian system for nearly five decades. The impacts and consequences of totalitarianism remain untreated by Albanian society, and therefore it is of particular interest to research these topics. Through the analysis of the components of political culture we can explain the stage of democratic consolidation of a society, the level of citizen participation in democracy and the performance of institutions, in this case of Albania. The main assumption of this paper is that post-communist political culture in Albania has delayed the process of democratic consolidation in the country, during an unfinished transition phase, from the totalitarian system to the system of liberal-democratic states. The methodology used in this paper is of a qualitative nature with an interpretative and analytical approach. The theoretical framework of the paper on which it is interpreted, analyzed and typified by the post-communist Albanian political culture relies on theorists such as Almond, Verba, Inglehart and others.