In this timely interdisciplinary volume, a renowned group of scholars provides a fresh look at transformation in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, They argue that this lengthy and largely uncontrollable process will follow a different path from that blazed by Western democracies. The contributors perceive this process as a painful one, marked by trials and reversals. The most striking and current example of this uneven process considered is the attempted August coup and the subsequent fragmentation of the Soviet Union. Attributing the collapse of state socialism to ideological erosion combined with economic deterioration, the contributors contend that all major segments in these societies—including the party itself—participated in bringing the system down.