Vesselin Dimitrov is senior lecturer in the Department of Government at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Klaus H. Goetz is chair of government, faculty of economics and social sciences, University of Potsdam, Germany; and visiting fellow, European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science. Hellmut Wollmann is emeritus professor of public administration in the Institute of Social Sciences at Humboldt University, Berlin.

A landmark text in the study of the new post-communist political systems in post-Cold War Europe. It offers fresh and illuminating insights into how executives are configured and function in the fast-changing contexts of transition, modernization, and Europeanization. It is a major contribution to comparative politics and required reading for all who wish to understand an essential aspect of how the new Europe functions.

• Part 1 The Study of Postcommunist ExecutivesChapter 2 Core Executives after CommunismChapter 3 Executive Institutions and Policy: A Framework AnalysisPart 4 Core Executive Trajectories in Four CountriesChapter 5 Hungary: A Core SupremeChapter 6 Poland: A Core Ascendant?Chapter 7 Czech Republic: A Core NeglectedChapter 8 Bulgaria: A Core against the OddsPart 9 Comparative AssessmentsChapter 10 Executive Trajectories ComparedChapter 11 Institutions and Their Effects: Budgetary and PolicymakingChapter 12 Domestic Institutions and European Governance

Vesselin Dimitrov is senior lecturer in the Department of Government at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Klaus H. Goetz is chair of government, faculty of economics and social sciences, University of Potsdam, Germany; and visiting fellow, European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science. Hellmut Wollmann is emeritus professor of public administration in the Institute of Social Sciences at Humboldt University, Berlin.

A landmark text in the study of the new post-communist political systems in post-Cold War Europe. It offers fresh and illuminating insights into how executives are configured and function in the fast-changing contexts of transition, modernization, and Europeanization. It is a major contribution to comparative politics and required reading for all who wish to understand an essential aspect of how the new Europe functions.

• Part 1 The Study of Postcommunist ExecutivesChapter 2 Core Executives after CommunismChapter 3 Executive Institutions and Policy: A Framework AnalysisPart 4 Core Executive Trajectories in Four CountriesChapter 5 Hungary: A Core SupremeChapter 6 Poland: A Core Ascendant?Chapter 7 Czech Republic: A Core NeglectedChapter 8 Bulgaria: A Core against the OddsPart 9 Comparative AssessmentsChapter 10 Executive Trajectories ComparedChapter 11 Institutions and Their Effects: Budgetary and PolicymakingChapter 12 Domestic Institutions and European Governance