ABSTRACT
The two decades following the fall of Communism in East and Central Europe and breakup of the Soviet Union saw the emergence of political regimes, which effectively combine authoritarian characteristics with ostensibly democratic elements. These regimes hold regular multiparty elections but stifle real political competition. They permit the existence of formal democratic institutions that, nonetheless, remain under the strict executive’s control. They combine the rhetorical acceptance of democracy with other essentially authoritarian features.
