ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the boundaries of the transition phase. It focuses on the problem of structural reform or institutional design. A regime transition marks the shift from one structure of government to another. The transition phase begins before the formal or de facto collapse of a regime. The roster of countries that move swiftly and easily from one regime to another is short. In the modern era, Spain and Portugal completed transitions with remarkable speed and ease. One of the most basic decisions made in the transition to a new regime is the choice of a governmental system. Ethnic conflicts predominate in regime transitions. They appear to overwhelm traditional interest-based competition, in part because leaders resort to ethnic mobilization. Perhaps post-communist transitions seem exceptionally difficult because in many cases they are post-revolutionary transitions as well. Post-revolutionary transitions involve far more fundamental change. Revolutions seek to replace the existing order with a new one.
