Legal change in post-communist states : contradictions and explanations : introduction

Reformers had high hopes that the end of communism in Eastern Europe and the formerSoviet Union would lead to significant improvements in legal institutions and the role oflaw in public administration. However, the cu mulative experience of 25 years of legalchange since communism has been mixed, marked by achievements and failures, advancesand moves backward. This special issue of the journal Communist and Post-CommunistStudies documents the nuances of this process and starts the process of explainingthem. This introductory essay draws on the fi ndings of the articles in this issue to explorethe impact of three potential explanatory factors: regime type, international influences,and legal (or political) culture. Regime type matters, but allows for considerable variationwithin authoritarian and democratic states alike and the possibility of reversals. The in-fluence of international organizations (like the European Union) is also far from predict-able, especially once states have joined the organization. Finally, legal cultures and politicaltraditions play a large role in explaining developments in individual countries, but there isnothing inevitable about their impact