After forty years of one-party rule under communist regimes, how were the countries of East-Central Europe to get back to the business of competitive politics in 1989? One key factor was the resumption of party politics, and this book reviews the postcommunist development of political parties in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary. Tomas Kostelecky describes party history up to 1947--some earlier parties were resurrected in 1989--and then covers the communist and postcommunist periods. Historical, cultural, and social factors in party development are all taken into account in...