Table of Contents

PART I: INSTITUTIONAL ENGINEERING IN A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVEKlaus von Beyme: Institutional Engineering and Transition to Democracy
Robert Elgie and Jan Zielonka: Constitutions and Constitution-Building: A Comparative Perspective Robert Elgie and Jan Zielonka
Leonardo Morlino: Constitutional Design and Problems of Implementation in Southern and Eastern Europe
PART II: INSTITUTIONAL ENGINEERING IN A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVEVello Pettai: Estonia: Positive and Negative Institutional Engineering
Adolf Sprudzs: Rebuilding Democracy in Latvia: Overcoming a Dual Legacy
Nida Gelazis: Institutional Engineering in Lithuania: Stability through Compromise
Venelin I. Ganev: Bulgaria: The (Ir)Relevance of Postcommunist Constitutionalism
Renate Weber: Constitutionalism as a Vehicle for Democratic Consolidation in Romania
Kasia Wolczuk: Ukraine: Tormented Constitution-Making
Gadis Gadzhiev: Power Imbalance and Institutional Interests in Russian Constitutional Engineering
Alexander Lukashuk: Constitutionalism in Belarus: A False Start
Petr Kopecky: The Czech Republic: From the Burden of the Old Federal Constitution to the Constitutional Horse Trading Among Political Parties
Darina Malová: Slovakia: From the Ambiguous Constitution to the Dominance of Informal Rules
Miro Cerar: Slovenia: From Elite Consensus to Democratic Consolidation
Istvan Szikinger: Hungary's Pliable Constitution
Miroslaw Wyrzykowski: Legitimacy: the Price of a Delayed Constitution in Poland
Wojciech Sadurski: Conclusions: On the Relevance of Institutions and the Centrality of Constitutions in Postcommunist Transitions

About the Author

Jan Zielonka, Professor of Political Science, Social and Political Sciences and the Robert Schuman Centre, European University Institute

Reviews

A powerful insight into the process of institution building in the new democracies of Eastern Europe ... Democratic Consolidation in Eastern Europe is going to be a very helpful repository for anyone who is studying the period of transition and who is looking for critical and well-informed perspectives on Eastern Europe's experience of democratization. Acta Politica: International Journal of Political Science A grand, lucid and extremely perceptive collection of essays detailing the East European experience. The two volumes provide a unique examination of the particular experience of the 'transition to democracy' ... Democratic Consolidation in Eastern Europe is an extremely valuable contribution to the study of post-1989 Eastern Europe (and, in fact, Europe as a whole). Acta Politica: International Journal of Political Science There is little to fault in this welcome dual publication. Democratization