The Separation of Party and State as a Logistical Problem: A Glance at the Causes of State Weakness in Postcommunism
The Separation of Party and State as a Logistical Problem: A Glance at the Causes of State Weakness in Postcommunism

Summary/Abstract: The symbiosis of party and state was arguably the most important feature of communist political systems in Eastern Europe, a unique characteristic that set them apart from other types of modern nondemocratic regimes. And yet, how they separated in the aftermath of the dramatic events of 1989 is rarely discussed in the literature on postcommunism. It is not particularly difficult to explain this lacuna: the problem of the withdrawal of the party from the state lends itself to a ready operationalization that conveniently compresses events into a simple narrative of how the party sustained its first electoral loss, conceded its defeat, and surrendered its power. [...]

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