ABSTRACT
Regime turnover is commonly associated with a founding situation. The formative years in the evolution of a political system are crucial, as they shape the interaction of political forces, the lines of conflict, the structure of the party system, and the legal and institutional framework of political competition. After the breakdown of the old regime new institutions emerge, or if the old ones do remain in place, they function differently. More importantly, the new institutions are often run by new actors. The importance of elite formation and composition in founding situations is a well-established political fact (O'Donnell and Schmitter 1986; Burton et al. 1992; Higley and Burton 2006).
