ABSTRACT
The emergence of independent, competitive parties and the development of party government has been one of the most significant aspects of recent political change in eastern Europe. Political parties appear as one of the most prominent institutions of modern liberal democracy. It is hardly possible, in practice if not in theory, to conceive of a functioning representative democracy without some kind of competitive party system. The development of a range of reasonably effective parties is a prime indicator of the democratization of the former communist countries and the progress they have made towards joining the broad European community of established democratic nations. Parties help anchor the recently established democratic regimes in a broader society and contribute to their stability amidst multiple processes of rapid social and economic change. Effective constitutions and the diverse processes involved in the rule of law are strengthened by the possibilities parties offer for the development of a more active citizenry and the emergence of a robustly democratic political culture. There are also strong reasons to believe that such conditions are conducive to stable processes of economic development and the formation of effective market economies. This book is designed to provide an overview of the critical process of party development in eastern Europe both for those with a special interest in contemporary processes of change in the region and others concerned with the nature of modern political parties more generally.
