Party Systems in Post-Soviet Countries

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvi

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2. Introduction

   1. Introduction

      • Andrey A. Meleshevich

      Pages 1-6

3. Measuring Political Institutionalization in the Baltic States, Russia, and Ukraine

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 7-7

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   2. Conceptual Framework and Operational Indicators of Political Institutionalization

      • Andrey A. Meleshevich

      Pages 9-27

   3. Autonomy of the Party System: Recruitment Into the National Legislature

      • Andrey A. Meleshevich

      Pages 29-50

   4. Autonomy of the Party System: Recruitment Into the Executive Branch

      • Andrey A. Meleshevich

      Pages 51-75

   5. Autonomy of the Party System: Geographical Patterns of Party Support

      • Andrey A. Meleshevich

      Pages 77-95

   6. Stability of the Party System

      • Andrey A. Meleshevich

      Pages 97-106

   7. Measuring Political Institutionalization: Conclusion

      • Andrey A. Meleshevich

      Pages 107-111

4. Explaining Political Institutionalization in the Baltic States, Russia, and Ukraine

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 113-113

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   2. The Role of the Old Communist Elites During the Formative Stage of the Party System

      • Andrey A. Meleshevich

      Pages 115-137

   3. The Type of Government and the Party System

      • Andrey A. Meleshevich

      Pages 139-163

   4. Political Consequences of the Post-Soviet Electoral Systems

      • Andrey A. Meleshevich

      Pages 165-192

   5. “Parties of Power” and the Party System

      • Andrey A. Meleshevich

      Pages 193-204

   6. Conclusion

      • Andrey A. Meleshevich

      Pages 205-213

5. Back Matter

   Pages 215-262

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This book conducts a comparative analysis of political institutions and develops rigorous methods suitable for cross-national longitudinal analysis. An examination of political party systems in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, and Ukraine shows striking differences of degrees and dynamics of political institutionalization in the five nations.

• communism
• Comparative analysis
• executive
• Institution
• russian and post-soviet politics

"A pathbreaking study that broadens our conceptual and empirical understanding of the comparative development of the party systems in five countries. Applying a sophisticated theoretical methodology, the work fills a major gap in the literature on the inter-relationship between institutions, elections and political outcomes."

- Richard Sakwa, University of Kent at Canterbury"This volume provides a much-needed comparative analysis of party systems in five post-Soviet states. The analysis benefits from being theoretically informed, conceptually rigorous and systematic in its approach. It also contains a wealth of empirical data that will undoubtedly be of considerable use to other scholars. Meleshevich's systematic comparative approach to party-system institutionalization distinguishes it from much previous research and marks it out as a milestone in the field of post-Soviet studies. This work will undoubtedly become a point of reference for scholars of post-Soviet party systems in years to come, and it will be essential reading for students of party systems in the post-communist world and beyond."

- Sarah Birch, Department of Government, University of Essex"This book is a very interesting study of party system institutionalization in post- communist politics. Unlike many contemporary studies, Andrey Meleshevich fully incorporates the existing general comparative literature on party-system institutionalization and uses that framework to shed light on how party systems are emerging in the countries of the former Soviet Union. This is truly a comparative work,andcontributes greatly to integrating the study of post-communist politics with mainstream comparative politics." - John Ishiyama, Professor of Political Science, Truman University

ANDREY A. MELESHEVICH is a professor of law and politics at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Ukraine.

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