Beyond an analysis of the formation of Civic Forum and the twists and turns of its negotiations with the party state, we should pay special attention to what went into the definition of the situation, how the definition of the transformational situation in Czechoslovakia differed from that in Romania.
Mutual definition of the situation The first stage involves the definition of the situation.
The original version of the scale has three dimensions (i.e., maintaining family integration, cooperation, and an optimistic definition of the situation; maintaining social support, self-esteem, and psychological stability; and understanding the medical situation through communication with other parents and consultation with medical staff).
It has three subscales: (a) family (family integration, cooperation, and optimistic definition of the situation); (b) support (maintaining social support, self-esteem, and psychological stability); and (c) medical (understanding the medical situation through communication with other parents and consultation with the medical professionals).
In Romania, the definition of the situation was unitary.
In Romania, we saw the dynamics of the definition of the situation.
It became apparent during the televised rally that the definition of the situation had changed.
They were able to sustain a democratic definition of the situation.
There was a dramatic moment in 1989 when the dynamic of a new definition of the situation became strikingly apparent.
Our problem is to understand how it became clear, and this is where the definition of the situation comes in.
Some of the difference has to do with how the regimes themselves acted, no doubt, but even more important is how the oppositional definition of the situation differed in the two cases.
