ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the existing literature on the rule of law in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and focuses on the literature which has tried to account for uneven rule of law development across post-communist countries. It identifies major trends and explanations of rule of law development in CEE. The chapter also identifies the gaps in the existing literature and in particular the methodological and conceptual challenges for rule of law scholars. It presents an integrated causal explanation for rule of law development and proposes a research agenda for the future. Differences in rule of law development in CEE have been explained by a plethora of selective factors, such as historical institutional legacies, informal judicial culture, European union (EU) conditionality, reformist actors, and reform processes. Although the rule of law promotion literature has dealt only partly with CEE countries, its insights are relevant for understanding the defective reform approach of external donors.
