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Two new studies, Conor O‘Dwyer‘s "Runaway State-building" and Anna Grzymała-Busse‘s "Rebuilding Leviathan", argue that in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) reform of the state has been a far more protracted, complex and uneven process than might have been expected given the region’s success in democratisation and marketisation compared to other post-communist and transitional states. Indeed, although employment levels and spending in the public sector in CEE have often declined since 1989, the personnel and expenditure of central government bureaucracies across the region have expanded, often at alarming rates, with little real gain in effi ciency or capacity – a phenomenon O‘Dwyer graphically terms ‘runaway state-building’. This essay surveys the crosscutting and overlapping arguments of the two books, including their conceptualisation of the problems of state politicisation, definitions and measurement of the state administration and its effectiveness, concepts of ‘robust competition’ and empirical fi ndings. It argues that while the two books signifi cantly advance knowledge on state transformation and party-state relationships in democratising states, their sometimes contradictory fi ndings and heavy reliance on ‘robust competition’ as an explanatory variable suggest that there is considerable scope for the refi nement of comparative research in this area.

The issue of democratic backsliding in Central and Eastern Europe has received substantial attention in recent years, and many observers are now concerned the coronavirus crisis could exacerbate the problem. Licia Cianetti and Seán Hanley write that while there are genuine threats to democracy in countries like Hungary and Poland, viewing the entire region through the lens of ‘backsliding’ may obscure more than it reveals.

The Czech Republic is due to hold legislative elections on 20-21 October. As Seán Hanley explains, the election coverage has been dominated by the campaign of Andrej Babiš, whose ANO movement currently tops the polls. He writes that while parallels have been drawn between Babiš and Donald Trump, the reality is more complex than this comparison suggests, and Babiš may well find his power constrained in office even if he secures a sizeable victory in the election.

Last month, the Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Petr Nečas resigned after his chief of staff was charged with corruption and abuse of power. Seán Hanley writes that following the collapse of the Nečas government, the Czech Republic’s President, Miloš Zeman, has exploited the situation by attempting to impose a technocratic caretaker administration. He argues that Zeman’s move poses a fundamental challenge to the parliamentary character of Czech democracy.

A number of European countries have witnessed increasing support for anti-establishment parties, most notably in Italy, where Beppe Grillo’s ‘Five Star Movement’ gained over 25 per cent of the vote in this year’s elections. Seán Hanley and Allan Sikk write that while such movements may be new to Western European politics, several anti-establishment parties have experienced similar breakthroughs in Central and Eastern European countries over the last decade. Outlining the results of a study on these parties, they formulate a typology for the conditions under which anti-establishment movements emerge.

The Czech Republic will hold parliamentary elections on 25-26 October. Seán Hanley previews the elections, noting that a number of newly formed parties have the potential to enter the Czech parliament. These include a variety of niche and personal parties, including the anti-corruption movement ANO2011 led by Andrej Babiš, the “Czech Berlusconi”. Depending on how many of these parties pass the electoral threshold, it could prove difficult for a stable coalition government to be formed.

The Czech Republic held parliamentary elections on 25-26 October. Seán Hanley provides an overview of the election, which saw a disappointing result for the Czech Social Democrats (ČSSD), who received the largest number of seats, but fell well short of their target of 25 per cent of the vote. The real winners were a new party, ANO2011, who greatly exceeded expectations and only narrowly finished behind the ČSSD. The result leaves a fragmented party system, with ANO’s leader Andrej Babiš, and Czech president Miloš Zeman now arguably the country’s two most powerful figures.

The Czech Republic has traditionally been assumed to be more Eurosceptic than other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly during the period in which Václav Klaus was the country’s president. Seán Hanley previews the upcoming European Parliament elections and the potential electoral fortunes of Czech Eurosceptic parties. He writes that while public opinion has hardened toward the EU, particularly in terms of support for joining the euro, the pragmatic approach of Andrej Babiš’s ANO movement is likely to receive the largest backing from the Czech electorate.