This volume contains chapters on Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, plus three chapters on Russia's regional politics, its political parties, and the overall process of democratization. The book provides an in-depth analysis of the uneven pattern of political change in these four countries.

In this volume, leading specialists on Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Serbia/Montenegro, Albania, Bulgaria, and Romania, examine the challenge of building democracy in countries riven with conflict, and focus on oppositional activity, political cultures that often favor strong presidentialism, the struggle for economic reform, and basic societal trends.

This book brings together distinguished specialists on the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. Particular attention is paid to the process of party formation, electoral politics, the rooting of civil society, and the impact of economic reforms on the emergence of interest groups.