Formal institutions and informal politics in Central and Eastern Europe

The book gives an introduction to the relationship between formal institutions and informal politics in Central and Eastern Europe between 1989 and 2005. The book wants to illucidate “what really happened” during and after the period of transformation within and beyond the formally institutionalised structures. How do informal practices influence the distribution of political power and the decision-making process? Which elements are more temporary, which are more permanent features of political life in these systems? The book is an introduction to the subject. It sets out to be innovative in the way it combines what is often separated in country studies—formal institutions and informal politics, like leadership styles, instrumental use of institutions, corruption, clientelism or the role of oligarchs.