More than three decades after the fall of the Iron Curtain, Comparative Politics of Central and Eastern Europe aims to challenge preconceived ideas about the differences between East and West European Politics and put leading experts from different disciplines and area studies, in conversation with each other. It addresses key questions, such as:

- Are democratic backsliding, electoral volatility, and the rise of illiberalism characteristic only of Central and Eastern Europe?
- Do we observe similar phenomena also in Western European Politics, as seen in conflicts around Brexit for example?
- How are these trends comparable and do we see them in all CEE countries or only in some?

With an unabashedly comparative ambition, the text aims to overcome the currently siloed approach to studying European politics by juxtaposing developments in East and West and analysing them together. Each chapter provides a broad and authoritative overview of the latest research on political economy, representative politics and the counter-democratic politics of social movements, civil society, media and courts in CEE as they relate to parallel and connected developments in Western Europe.

These contributions are situated against the backdrop of several key chapters on the comparative history of CEE, nation-state building, and (de)democratization in the context of shifting geopolitical choices. Comparative Politics of Central and Eastern Europe is essential reading for postgraduate students studying comparative European politics or anyone seeking to deepen their knowledge of the broader subject area.