Democracy and Authoritarianism in the Postcommunist World examines three waves of democratic change that took place in eleven different former Communist nations. It draws important conclusions about the rise, development, and breakdown of both democracy and dictatorship in each country, providing a comparative perspective on the post-Communist world. The first democratic wave to sweep this region encompasses the rapid rise of democratic regimes from 1989 to 1992 from the ashes of Communism and Communist states. The second wave arose with accession to the European Union (from 2004 to 2007) and the third, with the electoral defeat of dictators (1996 to 2005) in Croatia, Serbia, Georgia, and Ukraine. The authors of each chapter in this volume examine both internal and external dimensions of both democratic success and failure.

'Democracy and Authoritarianism in the Postcommunist World surveys the waves of democratizing movements across the postcommunist region subsequent to the 1989–92 period to raise critical questions about the sources of regime change, among them popular protest and mobilization, opposition cohesiveness, the diffusion of organizational tactics, and the influence of external actors. The book considers both blocked and successful democratization movements. Several of the chapters are likely to stand as authoritative analyses of the outcomes of the electoral revolutions in particular countries. This is a significant volume of broad ambition.'

Thomas F. Remington - Goodrich C. White Professor of Political Science, Emory University

'Necessary reading for all who seek to understand what has happened to democracy in the 29 postcommunist states, these exceptional essays by leading experts balance nuanced interpretations of the particularities of individual regimes with comparative insights that speak to all students of regime dynamics – particularly on the complexity, diversity, and instability of mixed or hybrid regimes and the decisive role that local democrats or authoritarians can play when they can draw on the resources offered by regional and global allies.'

Philip G. Roeder - University of California, San Diego

'… includes a number of excellent contributions by authors with roots in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union who are now based at leading US and European universities.'

Oksana Antonenko Source: Survival: Global Politics and Strategy