Bringing together a top flight set of contributors, this book considers
the problems and prospects for creating trustworthy and reliable public
institutions since the transition from socialism in Central and Eastern
Europe. The focus is on "second generation" issues of democratic
consolidation in states where the basic structures of the market and the
state have been established. The contributors raise important issues,
such as corruption and participation, largely neglected during the first
stage of the transition and that are of growing importance as several
countries in the region move toward entry into the European Union.
Highlighting problems and prospects of democratization with comparative
import to other newly democratizing areas, this volume draws on the
experience of those who have lived through and studied the transition
and contrasts their insights with those of generalist scholars who study
government accountability and democracy.