Between States : Interim Governments in Democratic Transitions

The book, which is divided into two clear parts, examines how interim governments all around the world and throughout the 20th-Century have effected democratic regime changes. They are relevant for understanding the developments in places such as South Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and a host of other examples.

Between States is the first book that assesses systematically the broad implications of interim governments in the establishment of democratic regimes and on the existence of states. Based on historical and contemporary democratisation experiences, the book presents four ideal types of interim government: opposition-led provisional governments, power-sharing interim governments, incumbent-led caretaker governments, and international interim government by the United Nations. The first part explores the theoretical problems of each of these models from a broad comparative perspective. It uses as illustrations historical and contemporary cases that present a wide spectrum of contexts for comparison. The second part provides extensive case studies that are intended to illustrate, appraise, amplify and criticise the analysis in volume one. These include Iran, East Germany, Portugal, Afghanistan, and Yugoslavia.