Achieving democracy through interest representation:Interest groups in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

This book assesses the quality of democracy through the study of organized interests in post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) from the collapse of the Communism in 1989 up to the 2018. It presents an in-depth, an empirically grounded study comparing interest groups in Central and Eastern Europe. Drawing on democratic theory and comparative analysis, the book puts forward an evaluation of the effects of a legal framework, political and social context, on the interest representation in the post-Communist era. The book is an important contribution to debates on the performance of the young democracies in Central and Eastern Europe, where scholars argue that there is a ‘democratic crisis’ and democratic fatigue while the interest group system is labelled as weak and, in some cases, underdeveloped. This volume offers a much-needed comprehensive look into formal interest representation in the CEE countries, contrasting it with the model of Western democracies. Although great efforts have been made to deepen our understanding of interest organization and lobbying tools, the current literature fails to provide a comprehensive answer on influence of unsupportive environment on population ecology. The case of CEE countries shows significant effects of the political and social contexts on interest representation, stimulating a debate about the quality of democratic institutions after the collapse of communism.