ABSTRACT
The economic and political changes that swept through central and eastern Europe beginning in the late 1980s affected the structure of policy decisions and policy formation throughout the region. The majority of think tanks in central and eastern Europe concentrate on a narrow range of topics, although some of the larger organizations have begun to broaden their research foci. Think tanks in central and eastern Europe can generally be divided into those that are closely associated with a university and those that have developed spontaneously in the post-communist system. The Bulgarian think tank community is one of the most dynamic, developed, and active in central and eastern Europe. Albania's evolution towards a democratic country was horribly scarred by the violence and anarchy that erupted in early 1997. The course of both democratic and market reforms was violently diverted by the advent of mass rioting and political and economic chaos resulting from failed pyramid investment schemes.
