The third edition of this text provides a background to the politics of China, Eastern Europe and what was the Soviet Union. The book has been rewritten throughout to reflect the emergence of pluralist multi-party systems and non Communist governments are marked.
In particular George Schopflin questions why states in the West are able to live with the nation as the legitimate space for democratic institutions, wheras in the post-communist world, especially in Eastern Europe, ethnicity is pre-eminent. He argues that the nation is simultaneously ethnic, civic and structured by the state.
Aims to provide an accurate and up-to-date guide to communist and post-communist political systems. This edition is produced by different authors, has been substantially rewritten and includes a new chapter on the leaderships of various countries