Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Table of Contents v
3. FOREWORD A new paradigm for understanding post-communist regimes vii
4. User’s guide to the book xi
5. I. The Conceptual Framework: 120 Propositions
6. Trapped in the Language of Liberal Democracy 1
7. Dissolving Axiom #1: Stubborn Structures and the Region’s Development 9
8. Dissolving Axiom #2: Formality and Informality 19
9. Dissolving Axiom #3: From Constitutional State to the Mafia State 35
10. A Sui Generis Phenomenon: the Adopted Political Family 45
11. The Formal Institutional Setting: Changing Patterns of Legitimacy 61
12. Legislation and the Legal System: From the Rule of Law to the Law of Rule 81
13. Defensive Mechanisms: Stability and Erosion of Democracies and Autocracies 93
14. Relational Economics: Corruption, Predation, and the Redistribution of Markets 109
15. Market-Exploiting Dictatorship: Coexistence of the Three Economic Mechanisms in China 131
16. Clientage Society and the Social Stability of Patronal Autocracy 141
17. Populism: an Ideological Instrument for the Political Program of Morally Unconstrained Collective Egoism 151
18. Beyond Regime Specificities: Country-, Policy-, and Era-Specific Features 163
19. Post-Communist Regime Trajectories: A Triangular Framework 185
20. II. Trajectories of Twelve Post-Communist Regimes
21. Estonia: Regime Change to Liberal Democracy 193
22. Romania: Regime Change to Patronal Democracy 198
23. Kazakhstan: Regime Change to Patronal Autocracy 201
24. China: Model Change to Market- Exploiting Dictatorship 205
25. Czech Republic: Backsliding Toward Patronal Democracy 209
26. Poland: Backsliding Toward Conservative Autocracy 213
27. Hungary: Backsliding to Patronal Autocracy from Liberal Democracy 217
28. Russia: Backsliding to Patronal Autocracy from Oligarchic Anarchy 222
29. Ukraine: Regime Cycles with Color Revolutions 227
30. North Macedonia: Regime Cycle with Intra-Elite Conflict 231
31. Moldova: Regime Cycles with Foreign Interference 234
32. Georgia: An Attempt to Break the Regime Cycle 239
33. Notes 243
34. About the Authors 252