Regime Change in the Yugoslav Successor States: Divergent Paths toward a New Europe(Democratic Transition and Consolidation)

In the 1990s, amid political upheaval and civil war, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia dissolved into five successor states. The subsequent independence of Montenegro and Kosovo brought the total number to seven. Balkan scholar and diplomat to the region Mieczyslaw P. Boduszynski examines four of those states—Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia—and traces their divergent paths toward democracy and Euro-Atlantic integration over the past two decades. Boduszynski argues that regime change in the Yugoslav successor states was powerfully shaped by both internal and external forces: the economic conditions on the eve of independence and transition and the incentives offered by the European Union and other Western actors to encourage economic and political liberalization. He shows how these factors contributed to differing formulations of democracy in each state. The author engages with the vexing problems of creating and sustaining democracy when circumstances are not entirely supportive of the effort. He employs innovative concepts to measure the quality of and prospects for democracy in the Balkan region, arguing that procedural indicators of democratization do not adequately describe the stability of liberalism in post-communist states. This unique perspective on developments in the region provides relevant lessons for regime change in the larger post-communist world. Scholars, practitioners, and policymakers will find the book to be a compelling contribution to the study of comparative politics, democratization, and European integration.

Table of Contents:
List of Figured and Tables Preface Abbreviations and Acronyms Introduction. Explaining Regime Change in the Yugoslav Successor States 1. Post-communist Diversity 2. Characterizing Regime Type 3. The Development of Disparity 4. Simulated Democracy: Croatia's Transition in the 1990s 5. Substantive Democracy: Slovenia's Transition in the 1990s 6. Illegitimate Democracy: Macedonia's Transition in the 1990s 7. Populist Authoritarianism: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's Transition in the 1990s 8. The Yugoslav Successor States in the New Millennium 9. Conclusions Notes References Index

About the Author :
Mieczyslaw P. Boduszynski has taught at the University of San Diego, European University of Tirana, and Temple University, Japan campus. He is a career Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, having served in Albania, Kosovo, and Japan.

Review :
This work is a must read for the academic or policy analyst interested in the Balkans. —Richard P. Farkas, Slavic Review A comprehensive analysis of the evolution of the Western Balkans. It provides a well-grounded argument, free from ideological considerations, allowing for a solid understanding of both the transition period and the current status of the case studies. —Ines Sofia de Oliveira, Journal of Common Market Studies A valuable book. —Dusan Pavlovic, East European Politics and Societies Boduszynski, however, does not fall into the trap of historical determinism, and puts less emphasis on historical legacies of rule of law or democracy than on different levels of economic development. —Perspectives on Politics Mieczyslaw P. Boduszynski's book is to be recommended to all those who analyse political changes in the 1990s. It offers interesting and rather useful methodological tools for comparative analysis of transition in war torn-countries. In addition, it helps us to understand the motives and actions by political elites in the post-Yugoslav states during the first decade since their independence. This book will also be useful to researchers of further transformation of these societies. —Dejan Jovic, Croatian Political Science Review