ABSTRACT
After the fall of communism widespread optimism among the new leaders flowed from a belief that instituting a pluralist democracy, a market economy, and a decentralised government would quickly bring major benefits. However, effecting this triple transformation meant dismantling an all-encompassing state while at the same time implementing sweeping procedural and policy reforms that would maintain the support of broader national and regional elites. It was no surprise that such an unprecedented undertaking soon came into conflict with the elites’ traditional beliefs and behaviour and therefore ran into major difficulties – often as a result of the lingering legacy of the past regime. At the same time, the main aims of the reform programme itself – democratisation, privatisation and the decentralisation of power – eroded the necessary state instruments for successful reforms.
