Institutional Reforms in South-eastern Europe:a Comparative Analysis During Different Periods of Transition

Martin Mendelski (Frankfurt University)

Abstract: Why did Ottoman successor states (Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia) have a lower institutional performance (governance) as compared to Habsburg successors (Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia) during post-communist transition? In order to solve this puzzle, the author ex-amines the persistence and change of pre-communist institutions during different periods of accelerated institutional change. After having identified elite and institutional (dis)continuities, the author concludes that a combination of historical and recent factors is the most convincing explanation for institutional divergence of post-communist countries. In particular, he underlines the impact of “negative feedbacks” (wars and economic crisis), which blocked institutional reforms in many Balkan countries.


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