The most important achievement of Chávez is the starting of democratization that will integrate the poor majority of the population into the political life of the country. The current, grand-scale programs for the social and political integration convinced the masses that Chávez – unlikely to his predecessors – takes seriously his promises to the people – that's why he can count on the stable support of the majority of the society. If the revolution of Chávez is successful, Venezuela can be a model for the whole of Latin America.

In Venezuela, instead of a frontal attack against the old administrational and bureaucratic machinery, parallel structures were created to perform the tasks that the traditional apparatus was unfit to solve. These new, parallel structures mainly organized from below manage the social, health-care and educational programs of the Chávez-government that received much international attention. The resources and authorities of these parallels are, however, limited that delays the solution of many urgent problems and hinders the progress toward a direct democracy.

The article analyzes the steps the Venezuelan working-class movement has made towards the workers' self-management since Chávez came to power. It introduces the struggle between the old trade unions and their new, more spontaneous counterparts, and the various theoretical and pragmatic results of self-management. It emphasizes at the same time that the process is far from being over: the Venezuelan "revolution" may have a few surprises in store.

The French philosopher, who died 20 years ago, was an original thinker as a critic of the "disciplining society." With his new methods he was able to reveal much of oppressive processes that take place in the micro-world of power. Re-reading the philosopher today induces a healthy and productive liberal anarchism, which can be also related to the Marxist critical theory by the analysis of the modern power-dependency structures.

The study gives an empirical analysis of the formation of political orientations and sets of values of the youth in Hungary after the change of regime, and it seeks an answer to the question how we can explain the popularity of the political right amongst young people. The authors examine to what extent the trends and value orientations characteristic of the postindustrial societies can be observed in Hungary and to what extent they continue to be shaped by the hegemonic narratives of the state socialist past. Party preference does not necessarily imply commitment to a set of values amongst the youth; the parliamentary left can improve its position in this age group if it is able to formulate an alternative that gives concrete answers to the challenges of modern society (globalization, national identity, problems of employment).