ABSTRACT
Much of the process of post-communist transition in Central and Eastern Europe since 1989 has been dominated by a radical re-negotiation of the role and outlook of the State. The collapse of communist rule in the region was followed by a period of severe institutional fluidity in which the new democracies produced new structures of governance and political representation. These new institutional configurations were enshrined in a wave of new democratic constitutions in the region, which also redefined the boundaries of state interference in the economy and society. Naturally, the content of the new constitutional arrangements was shaped by a blend of historical baggage (relating both to earlier memories of democratic statehood and to ‘national’ varieties of communism) and post-communist political contestation.
