Formal Institutions and Informal Politics in Central and Eastern Europe : Hungary, Poland, Russia and Ukraine

This book gives an introduction to the relationship between formal institutions and informal politics in Central and Eastern Europe between 1989 and 2005. The book wants to illucidate "what really happened" during and after the period of transformation within and beyond the formally institutionalized structures. How do informal practices influence the distribution of political power and the decision-making process? Which elements are more temporary and which are more permanent features of political life in these systems? The book is innovative in the way it combines what is often separated in country studies - formal institutions and informal politics, similar leadership styles, instrumental use of institutions, corruption, clientelism, and the role of oligarchs.

Gerd Meyer studied chemistry at the Justus-Liebig University in Giessen under the supervision of Rudolf Hoppe. He gained his doctorate in 1976, and in 1980 worked with John D. Corbett at Iowa State University. In 1982 he gained his lecturing qualification in inorganic chemistry at Giessen, becoming a Full Professor at the University of Hanover in 1988. He subsequently moved to the same position at the University of Cologne in 1996. Professor Meyer's main research interests focus on solid-state and coordination chemistry of rare-earth elements and transition elements.

Dieter Naumann studied chemistry at the Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) at Aachen. His diploma (1967) and doctoral theses (1969) were supervised by Martin Schmeisser. Research on perfluoroalkyl iodine compounds led to his lecturing qualification in inorganic chemistry at the University of Dortmund in 1975. From 1967 until 1989 he was a professor in Dortmund, becoming a Full Professor of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry at the University of Cologne in 1989. His main research interests are syntheses of fluoroorgano groups 10 to 18 element compounds.

Lars Wesemann studied chemistry at the Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technische Hochschule in Aachen. His diploma and doctoral theses were supervised by Gerhard E. Herberich, and he gained the latter in 1990. After that he worked in Dietmar Seyferth's group at MIT for one year before returning to the RWTH Aachen. Independent research led him to his lecturing qualification in inorganic chemistry in 1997. He was a Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Cologne from 1999 until 2003, and is now a Full Professor at the University of Tubingen.