GOVERNING NEW EUROPEAN DEMOCRACIES

Governing New European Democracies is the first truly comparative volume that examines the internal characteristics of cabinet decision-making in ten Central Eastern European countries between 1990 and 2003. On the basis of 320 interviews with former ministers who participated in these decision-making processes, this study examines the role of procedures and rules, parties, civil servants, individual ministers, the finance minister and above all prime ministers on the nature of cabinet decision-making. The work contributes to an empirical comparative framework on streamlining decision-making processes in cabinet governments. The key finding of the study is that Central Eastern European countries have implemented a cabinet system that compares well with governmental systems of Western Europe.