Modes of Post-Communism: Successor Parties, Trade Unions, and the State in Russia and East Central Europe

Abstract

This article is devoted to the comparative analysis of principles and factors of relationships of successor parties, trade unions, and state in the post-communist countries. The analyzed period covers the cases of Russia and East Central Europe (Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia) from 1989 to 2004, from the beginning of the post-communist changes to the accession to the European Union. The relationships between successor parties, trade unions, and state are presented on three levels depending on the institutional links between them: (1) institutional design arena; (2) electoral arena; and (3) social dialogue arena.