Political parties and the state in post-communist Europe: The nature of symbiosis

Abstract

The linkage between political parties and the state in post-communist Europe can be analysed in three different dimensions: the dependence of parties on the state, the management of parties by the state, and the parties' colonization of the state. Empirical analysis of the relationship between parties and the state in these dimensions in all contemporary electoral democracies in Eastern Europe reveals that, in general, parties in post-communist Europe are dependent on the state financially; they are extensively managed by the state; and they do not shy away from the practices of rent-seeking within the state. However, there are also some important regional variations in the predominant type of party–state linkage in the new post-communist democracies.