This article revisits the case for paying more attention to agency and strategy in theories of post-communist politics and society. I analyze two trends of major social and political significance in Central and Eastern Europe between 1989 and 2007: the apparent political inconsequentiality of...

This article makes a plea for a more explicitly intentional and political-strategic analysis of post-communist public policy pathways. I analyze a set of social and labor market policies implemented in the Czech Republic (pro-active job loss prevention) as compared to Hungary and Poland...

Introduction -- The unexpected peacefulness of transitions -- Political quiescence despite conditions for conflict -- Preventing protests: divide and pacify as political strategy -- The great abnormal pensioner booms: strategic social policies in practice -- Peaceful pathways: the political...

This 5-article section discusses recent advances in the study of postcommunist states and public administrations based around Anna Gzymala-Busse's Rebuilding Leviathan and Conor O'Dwyer's Runaway State Building. In addition to contributions by these two authros, it contains an editorial...

I discuss the use of power to safeguard political stability by policymakers in four post-communist cases: Hungary and Poland, and Estonia and Latvia. My treatment is in line with traditional path dependency and 'generous' or 'emergency' welfare state interpretations, but adds a more strategic...

"This book adopts novel theoretical approaches to study the diverse welfare pathways that have been evolving across Central and Eastern Europe. Beyond existing path dependency and neo-institutionalist explanations, it highlights the role of explanatory factors such as micro-causal mechanisms,...