Ramona Coman is Assitant Professor of Political Science, and Director of the Institue for European Studies, at the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. Her research interests relate to Europeanization, European integration and judicial reforms in the new member states of the EU. Luca Tomini is an FNRS Postdoctoral Researcher at the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. His main research interests are democracy and democratization in a comparative perspective.

• Introduction: A Comparative Perspective on the State of Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe 1. Reassessing Democratic Consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe and the Role of the EU 2. Quo Vadis Judicial Reforms? The Quest for Judicial Independence in Central and Eastern Europe 3. How Stable and Reasonable is Postcommunist Public Opinion? The Case of the Czech Republic 4. The State of Political Participation in Post-Communist Democracies: Low but Surprisingly Little Biased Citizen Engagement

Ramona Coman is Assitant Professor of Political Science, and Director of the Institue for European Studies, at the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. Her research interests relate to Europeanization, European integration and judicial reforms in the new member states of the EU. Luca Tomini is an FNRS Postdoctoral Researcher at the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. His main research interests are democracy and democratization in a comparative perspective.

• Introduction: A Comparative Perspective on the State of Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe 1. Reassessing Democratic Consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe and the Role of the EU 2. Quo Vadis Judicial Reforms? The Quest for Judicial Independence in Central and Eastern Europe 3. How Stable and Reasonable is Postcommunist Public Opinion? The Case of the Czech Republic 4. The State of Political Participation in Post-Communist Democracies: Low but Surprisingly Little Biased Citizen Engagement

Ramona Coman is Assitant Professor of Political Science, and Director of the Institue for European Studies, at the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. Her research interests relate to Europeanization, European integration and judicial reforms in the new member states of the EU. Luca Tomini is an FNRS Postdoctoral Researcher at the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. His main research interests are democracy and democratization in a comparative perspective.

• Introduction: A Comparative Perspective on the State of Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe 1. Reassessing Democratic Consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe and the Role of the EU 2. Quo Vadis Judicial Reforms? The Quest for Judicial Independence in Central and Eastern Europe 3. How Stable and Reasonable is Postcommunist Public Opinion? The Case of the Czech Republic 4. The State of Political Participation in Post-Communist Democracies: Low but Surprisingly Little Biased Citizen Engagement