Party Development and Democratic Change in Post-communist Europe The First Decade

Covering 10 years of post-communist political change in eastern Europe, this work examines the capacity of the former ruling parties to attract contemporary voters and their role in contributing to the consolidation of the new democratic regimes. Attention is paid to the comparative processes of party development in terms of party activity becoming more professional, aspects of party system institutionalization, major dimensions of institutional and electoral development, and party finances. A range of countries are surveyed to throw light on these processes, and broad analysis conducted on the nature of conservatism in post-communist Europe and the role of transnational party cooperation in fostering processes of Europeanization.

This work surveys processes of party development in the context of the ten years of democratic change in post-communist eastern Europe. It examines the capacity of the former ruling parties to attract contemporary voters and their role in contributing to the consolidation of the new democratic regimes.

Democratization and political change in post-communist Estaern Europe, P.G. Lewis; toward a Soviet past or a socialist future? understanding why voters choose communist parties, S. Oates, W.L.Miller and A. Grodeland; successor parties and democratic consolidation in post-communist politics, J. Ishiyama; party system institutionalization in new democracies: Poland - a trend setter with no followers, R. Markowski; the "Professionalization" of party campaigning in post-communist Poland, A. Szczerbiak; party and state in democratic Slovenia, A Krasovec; institutions and party development in the Baltic States, V. Pettai; Slovakia 10 years after the collapse of communist rule, G. Wightman; perspectives on democratic party development in Belarus, E. Korastelava; conservatism and party identity in Eatsern Europe, K. Lok Chan; patterns of Europeanization and transnational party cooperation - party development in Central and Eastern Europe, G. Pridham; conclusion - party development and democratization in Eastern Europe, P.G.Lewis.