This second, revised edition provides an introduction to the relationship between formal institutions and informal politics in Central and Eastern Europe between 1989 and 2005. The book illucidates "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, such as leadership styles, instrumental use of institutions, corruption, clientelism, or the role of oligarchs.