The Choice of the Election System
Democratic Rules, Undemocratic Elections
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The adoption of technical elements from democratic electoral systems does not necessarily entail the adoption of the "constitutional idea" which lies at the heart of elections in democracies. While the two processes ran parallel in East Central Europe, Russia presents a case of failed institutional transfer. Here, as in most post-Soviet states, formal democratic rules are instrumental in the stabilisation of authoritarian regimes.
(Osteuropa 9/2010, pp. 53–70)