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Developments in Central and East European Politics 4

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Book

Pages: 336

Published: September 2007

Editors: Stephen White, Judy Batt, Paul G. Lewis

Contributors: Paul G. Lewis, Jim Seroka, Stephen White, John D. Bell, Chris Corrin, Bob Deacon, Jan Ake Dellenbrant, Judy Dempsey, Krzysztof Jasiewicz, David S. Mason, George Schopflin, Nigel Swain, Ray Taras, Gordon Wightman

The face of Central and Eastern Europe has been dramatically transformed since the collapse of communism. The region faces new challenges, including the needs to find a balance between effective leadership and accountability and to reverse the economic decline of the late communist years. Addressing these concerns and others, Developments in Central and East European Politics 4 brings together specially commissioned chapters by leading scholars from both sides of the Atlantic.

The chapters, all of which are new to this edition, focus on key features of the political systems that have emerged following the transition to postcommunist rule and the enlargement of the European Union through 2006. Full attention is given to the pattern of events in individual nations, but the main emphasis is on the framework of politics across the region—constitutions, leadership, parliaments, parties, and electoral systems—and the process of politics, as it is revealed in political participation, civil society, economic change, and the quality of democratic government within and beyond the region.

Clearly written and well supported with references and suggestions for further reading, Developments in Central and East European Politics 4 is the ideal guide to the process of change in a group of states that were formerly modeled on the Soviet Union but are now a distinctive and varied presence within a continent that has been redefining its boundaries, its values, its economic systems, and its international allegiances.

Contributors. Judy Batt, Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Sarah Birch, Heather Grabbe, Tim Haughton, Krzysztof Jasiewicz, Petr Kopecký, Paul G. Lewis, Frances Millard, Cas Mudde, D. Mario Nuti, Mark Pittaway, Ray Taras, Stephen White, Andrew Wilson, Kataryna Wolczuk

Praise

“[O]ne of the key strengths of the Developments series has been the regular publication of updated and revised new editions. . . . Developments in Central and East European Politics 4 is, as ever, a well written and accessible collection well suited to the needs of teaching and, in particular, to courses dealing with politics across post-communist Europe in broad comparative terms. . . . For academic readers, the evolving content and coverage of the DCEEP series thus throws into sharp relief many current dilemmas about how to frame research on the former communist ‘Eastern Europe’ and integrate it into European comparative politics more generally.” - Sean Hanley, Europe-Asia Studies

“Recommended. Genderal readers and all undergraduates.” - R.P. Peters, Choice

Praise for Developments in Central and East European Politics3
“The agile fine-tuning of [the book’s] editors pulls all the material together into a highly readable presentation that suits the need of students with little or no prior knowledge about the region, who are learning for the first time about the complexities of postcommunist development in the many countries that now comprise the central and east European region.” - Minton F. Goldman, Slavic Review

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Author/Editor Bios Table Of Contents Rights Additional Information

Author/Editor Bios

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Stephen White is Professor of International Politics and a Senior Research Associate of the School of Central and Eastern Europe at the University of Glasgow. He is the author of Russia’s New Politics: The Management of a Postcommunist Society and chief editor of the Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics.

Judy Batt is Senior Research Fellow at the EU Institute for Security Studies in Paris. She is the author of Statehood and European Integration in Central and Eastern Europe.

Paul G. Lewis is Professor of European Politics in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Open University in the United Kingdom. He is the author of Political Parties in Post-Communist Eastern Europe.

Table Of Contents

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List of Tables and Figures ix

Preface xi

Notes on the Contributors xiii

List of Abbreviations xvii

Map of Europe xx

1 Introduction: Defining Central and Eastern Europe / Judy Batt 1

2 From Communist to Post-Communist Politics / Mark Pittaway 20

3 The Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland / Frances Millard 37

4 The Other New Europeans / Tim Haughton 56

5 The Western Balkans / Judy Batt 72

6 The East Europeans: Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova / Andrew Wilson 90

7 Central and Eastern Europe and the EU / Heather Grabbe 110

8 Executive Leadership / Ray Taras 127

9 Structures of Representation / Petr Kopecky 145

10 Electoral Systems / Sarah Birch 161

11 Political Parties / Paul G. Lewis 174

12 Citizens and Politics / Krzysztof Jasiewicz 193

13 Civil Society / Cas Mudde 213

14 Constitutional Politics / Kataryna Wolczuk 229

15 Managing Transition Economies / D. Mario Nuti 245

16 The Quality of Post-Communist Democracy / Dirk Berg-Schlosser 264

Guide to Further Reading 276

Bibliography 282

Index 308

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Additional Information

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Paper ISBN: 978-0-8223-3949-6 / Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-8223-3944-1 /

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