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The face of Central and Eastern Europe has been dramatically transformed since the collapse of communism. The region faces new challenges, including the needs to find a balance between effective leadership and accountability and to reverse the economic decline of the late communist years. Addressing these concerns and others, Developments in Central and East European Politics 4 brings together specially commissioned chapters by leading scholars from both sides of the Atlantic.

The chapters, all of which are new to this edition, focus on key features of the political systems that have emerged following the transition to postcommunist rule and the enlargement of the European Union through 2006. Full attention is given to the pattern of events in individual nations, but the main emphasis is on the framework of politics across the region—constitutions, leadership, parliaments, parties, and electoral systems—and the process of politics, as it is revealed in political participation, civil society, economic change, and the quality of democratic government within and beyond the region.

Clearly written and well supported with references and suggestions for further reading, Developments in Central and East European Politics 4 is the ideal guide to the process of change in a group of states that were formerly modeled on the Soviet Union but are now a distinctive and varied presence within a continent that has been redefining its boundaries, its values, its economic systems, and its international allegiances.

Contributors. Judy Batt, Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Sarah Birch, Heather Grabbe, Tim Haughton, Krzysztof Jasiewicz, Petr Kopecký, Paul G. Lewis, Frances Millard, Cas Mudde, D. Mario Nuti, Mark Pittaway, Ray Taras, Stephen White, Andrew Wilson, Kataryna Wolczuk

The face of Central and Eastern Europe has been dramatically transformed since the collapse of communism. The region faces new challenges, including the needs to find a balance between effective leadership and accountability and to reverse the economic decline of the late communist years. Addressing these concerns and others, Developments in Central and East European Politics 4 brings together specially commissioned chapters by leading scholars from both sides of the Atlantic.

The chapters, all of which are new to this edition, focus on key features of the political systems that have emerged following the transition to postcommunist rule and the enlargement of the European Union through 2006. Full attention is given to the pattern of events in individual nations, but the main emphasis is on the framework of politics across the region—constitutions, leadership, parliaments, parties, and electoral systems—and the process of politics, as it is revealed in political participation, civil society, economic change, and the quality of democratic government within and beyond the region.

Clearly written and well supported with references and suggestions for further reading, Developments in Central and East European Politics 4 is the ideal guide to the process of change in a group of states that were formerly modeled on the Soviet Union but are now a distinctive and varied presence within a continent that has been redefining its boundaries, its values, its economic systems, and its international allegiances.

Contributors. Judy Batt, Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Sarah Birch, Heather Grabbe, Tim Haughton, Krzysztof Jasiewicz, Petr Kopecký, Paul G. Lewis, Frances Millard, Cas Mudde, D. Mario Nuti, Mark Pittaway, Ray Taras, Stephen White, Andrew Wilson, Kataryna Wolczuk

This fifth edition of Developments in Central and East European Politics maintains the series' status as the most up-to-date and authoritative guide to political transformations in the region. The countries that emerged from the collapse of communism between 1989 and 1991 embarked on transitions to democracy and a market economy that were profoundly affected by developments such as the expansion of the European Union (EU) and NATO.

Central and East Europe is a large, extremely diverse region, encompassing full-fledged EU members—the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Slovakia, followed later by Bulgaria and Romania—as well as nations of the Western Balkans that are progressing at various speeds along the EU path—Croatia, about to join; Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, with EU candidate status; and Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo, struggling to keep up. The region also includes the East European states of Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova. In this collection, leading authorities examine how these heterogeneous nations have fared since the collapse of communism. The contributors look at executive leadership, elections and voter behavior, parliamentary systems, political parties, citizen engagement in civil society, the effects of neoliberalism, and the quality of life in postcommunist democracies. Most of the essays are new to this edition; the rest have been thoroughly updated.

Contributors. Judy Batt, Sarah Birch, Nathaniel Copsey, Terry Cox, Rick Fawn, Tim Haughton, Krzysztof Jasiewicz, Paul G. Lewis, Frances Millard, David M. Olson, Mitchell A. Orenstein, Andrew Roberts, Ray Taras, Stephen White, Andrew Wilson

This fifth edition of Developments in Central and East European Politics maintains the series' status as the most up-to-date and authoritative guide to political transformations in the region. The countries that emerged from the collapse of communism between 1989 and 1991 embarked on transitions to democracy and a market economy that were profoundly affected by developments such as the expansion of the European Union (EU) and NATO.

Central and East Europe is a large, extremely diverse region, encompassing full-fledged EU members—the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Slovakia, followed later by Bulgaria and Romania—as well as nations of the Western Balkans that are progressing at various speeds along the EU path—Croatia, about to join; Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, with EU candidate status; and Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo, struggling to keep up. The region also includes the East European states of Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova. In this collection, leading authorities examine how these heterogeneous nations have fared since the collapse of communism. The contributors look at executive leadership, elections and voter behavior, parliamentary systems, political parties, citizen engagement in civil society, the effects of neoliberalism, and the quality of life in postcommunist democracies. Most of the essays are new to this edition; the rest have been thoroughly updated.

Contributors. Judy Batt, Sarah Birch, Nathaniel Copsey, Terry Cox, Rick Fawn, Tim Haughton, Krzysztof Jasiewicz, Paul G. Lewis, Frances Millard, David M. Olson, Mitchell A. Orenstein, Andrew Roberts, Ray Taras, Stephen White, Andrew Wilson

The United States deported nearly two million illegal immigrants during the first five years of the Obama presidency—more than during any previous administration. President Obama stands accused by activists of being “deporter in chief.” Yet despite efforts to rebuild what many see as a broken system, the president has not yet been able to convince Congress to pass new immigration legislation, and his record remains rooted in a political landscape that was created long before his election. Deportation numbers have actually been on the rise since 1996, when two federal statutes sought to delegate a portion of the responsibilities for immigration enforcement to local authorities.

Policing Immigrants traces the transition of immigration enforcement from a traditionally federal power exercised primarily near the US borders to a patchwork system of local policing that extends throughout the country’s interior. Since federal authorities set local law enforcement to the task of bringing suspected illegal immigrants to the federal government’s attention, local responses have varied. While some localities have resisted the work, others have aggressively sought out unauthorized immigrants, often seeking to further their own objectives by putting their own stamp on immigration policing. Tellingly, how a community responds can best be predicted not by conditions like crime rates or the state of the local economy but rather by the level of conservatism among local voters. What has resulted, the authors argue, is a system that is neither just nor effective—one that threatens the core crime-fighting mission of policing by promoting racial profiling, creating fear in immigrant communities, and undermining the critical community-based function of local policing.