The Eurasian Political Economy and Public Policy Series focuses on the democratization and economic liberalization of post-communist countries in Eurasia.
Progress in democratization and economic liberalization of the 27 post-communist countries of Eurasia is multifaceted. For instance, Belarus, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are clearly unabashed authoritarian regimes with only sporadic ventures toward political accountability and limited effort to liberalize economically. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia have more substantial moves, particularly on the economic side, but the regimes seem to be undergoing political retrenchment. Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and three Baltic States clearly have competitive democracies with effective political institutions and processes and functioning market economies. Ukraine and Georgia were able to replace their unbalanced political schemes with more balanced division of powers.
But there remain serious challenges and unmet expectations. It is clear that the "dual transition" of democratization and economic liberalization has been a challenge for all of the regimes that have seriously attempted it. Indeed, the entire Eurasian region offers a fruitful field for further study.
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