ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to provide a review on the sub-field of semi-presidentialism, emphasising its relevance to Eastern Europe. It maps out the main trends and important findings in the field of semi-presidentialism, and indicates some research gaps for the benefit of future research. The chapter describes general classification of the constitutional regimes in Eastern Europe and the post-communist countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia, where the variations in regime types and presidential power are reported. It reviews some of the core themes of semi-presidential research on Eastern Europe, where it reports on dominant approaches and the main findings in the literature. The chapter identifies and suggests some relevant avenues for future research on semi-presidentialism in Eastern Europe. The pattern of democracy and autocracy in Eastern Europe and the post-Soviet countries indeed lends support to arguments linking parliamentarism with democracy. However, strong presidencies have been adopted where obstacles unrelated to the constitution are at play.
