On the Limits of Path Dependency Approaches for Explaining Postsocialist Institution Building: In Critical Response to David Stark
On the Limits of Path Dependency Approaches for Explaining Postsocialist Institution Building: In Critical Response to David Stark

Summary/Abstract: In 1991 Terry L. Karl and Philippe C. Schmitter hypothesized "that the mode of transition from autocratic rule is a principal determinant of whether democracy will emerge." In passing, they noted that this assumption "bears a generic resemblance to the currently fashionable attention being paid to 'chaos theory' and to 'path dependency.’” Although Karl and Schmitter's concrete conclusions were-at least partially-disproved by reality within a few years, their general argument has apparently influenced how postcommunist change is conceptualized to a remarkable extent. In the subsequent years, two patterns of explaining postcommunist developments have become ever more dominant in comparative transformation studies. [...]

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