Over thirty years after the collapse of socialism, political behavior in post-socialist Europe still diverges markedly from patterns in Western Europe. These differences are often attributed to the legacy of socialism, where exposure to authoritarian ideas, corruption, or the absence of civil society fostered mistrust and support for radical parties.

Yet experiences under socialism were far from uniform. While the state restricted interaction with the West, some individuals maintained frequent contact; others were party members who benefited from the system; and there were both those who suffered repression and those who actively challenged the regime through protest. This dissertation argues that understanding political behavior after socialism requires disentangling these diverse individual experiences of life under socialism.

To explore this, the dissertation analyzes how varieties of socialist experiences continue to shape key political outcomes—namely, electoral participation, party support, and social trust. It draws on five empirical studies and utilizes thirty years of intergenerational panel data from the former German Democratic Republic, alongside comparative analyses across thirty post-socialist countries. The findings show that specific experiences—especially those of repression and mobilization—leave durable political imprints that persist both within individuals and across generations. In fact, variation in party support within the former GDR often surpasses the average East–West divide, underscoring the importance of examining within-region heterogeneity.

This approach challenges simple East–West comparisons by highlighting the diversity of socialist legacies in shaping political behavior in post-socialist Europe. As many post-socialist societies face renewed democratic challenges, understanding how past experiences continue to shape political behavior provides a more nuanced, historically informed perspective on contemporary democratic trajectories.