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With the end of the Cold War, many assumed that socialism, together with the specific constitutional values and political structures was dead (or dying). This article will challenge these assumptions. Post-Cold War reality did not, however, follow these assumptions. Some countries, especially in Asia, continue to adhere to socialist constitutional approaches. Some cannot fully overcome their socialist legacy. And still others include socialist values in their constitutions and practice. These values and ideas warrant study. Most notably, socialism carries with it a certain set of values and, consequently, a corresponding pressure on legal institutions. The authors, guest editors of this special issue of the Russian Law Journal on the socialist legacies in the world constitutions, outline a general approach for the study of socialist constitutional legacies. The article therefore addresses (a) the methodology of socialist constitutional legacies analysis, (b) the core values of the socialist constitutions and (c) ways in which socialist constitutional ideas and concepts can be combined with the principles of constitutionalism. This analysis raises a number of important – but under-researched questions. One is the extent to which these socialist ideas or concepts are actually socialist. Another is the extent to which these ideas can be included in constitutional discourse.

This paper provides an overview of the differences that have emerged in the social insurance systems of the three Baltic countries since they regained their independence. It assesses how closely the institutional structures of social insurance in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania approximate to various ideal types of social security institutions to be found in the research literature. The findings indicate that, in general terms, the social security system of Estonia and Latvia can be labelled as a mix of the basic security and corporatist model, even if there are also some weak elements of the targeted model. In contrast, it appears that the institutional changes developing in the social security system of Lithuania have led to a combination of the basic security and targeted models of welfare. Even if they started with identical social security institutions inherited from the Soviet period, there is not only similarity, but also diversity in how these countries are now addressing problems in the social policy field.

"This paper aims at explaining the role and importance of the evolution of institutions for sustainable agri-environments during the transition process by referring to examples of agri-environmental problems faced in Central and Eastern European countries. It is often stated that the replacement of institutional structures in post socialist countries would bring a unique opportunity to implement new policies and institutions needed to ensure that economic growth is environmentally sustainable. This idea stems from the assumption that the breakdown of the socialist system resembles that (of the Schumpeterian type) of creative destruction - a process that incessantly revolutionizes economic structures from within. However, not all kinds of institutions, especially at local level, can simply be implemented, and even more, not incessantly. Instead, they evolve as a response to ecosystem and social system characteristics, and this is a rather slow process. A central question therefore is whether the required institutional arrangements for achieving sustainability in the area of agri-environmental resource management can be built more easily in periods of transition as they fill institutional gaps, or whether processes of transition make institution building a more difficult and far more time consuming task than previously thought. Above all, we want to find out, how these two processes of institution building at different scales affect the sustainable management of resources such as water and biodiversity in agriculture? It will become clear that the agri-environmental problem areas faced during transition are complex and dynamic and require adequate institutions both by political design and from the grassroots, to be developed by the respective actors involved. Transition from centrally planned to pluralistic systems has to be considered as a particular and in some respect non-typical process of institutional change. Popular theories of institutional change do not necessarily apply. The privatisation experience from many CEE countries will serve as an example. Finally, we will provide some examples of missing or insufficient interaction between political actors or agencies and people in CEE countries. Substantial investments into social and human capital, particularly regarding informal institutions are needed for institutions of sustainability to evolve." (author's abstract)

France's Socialist Party-Communist Party alliance, formed in 1973, has come to an end, leaving a shaky future for the parties of the left, once forming a majority. The Communist Party has broken its ties with the Socialists since this alliance does not fit in with its goal of achieving power-political, parliamentary, union; over nationalized industries, independent institutions, & over the state. Weakening the Socialist position is part of the plan for obtaining power, & since the Socialists benefited more from the alliance, pragmatism would seem to dictate a split. The Socialists, under their leader F. Mitterand, have gained in strength & influence, & are seen by the Communists as their prime enemy. The Mitterand-Socialist position, probably the closest to that desired by most of the French people, parallels the suggestion of sociologist A. Touraine: 'The Socialist Party must act in such a way as to be recognized as the principal political force by which more vitality, justice, & freedom can develop in this country.' D. Abrahams.

The author aims at a comparative analysis of the institutional transformation, particularly in the central, regional, and local dimensions, of formerly socialist countries by looking at Hungary, Poland, and East Germany. Elaborating the different institutional arrangements with which the three countries came out of the founding period after the collapse of the communist regime, the author attempts to identify the specific constellation of forces and ideas that essentially shaped the institution-building process and its underlying institutionalizing logic in each country. Turning to the subsequent consolidating period the author tries to relate the different rates and paces of the following institutional adaptation and of the 'reform of the reform' primarily to the different arenas, issues, and strengths of the party-political competition that has emerged in these countries.