This underscores the fact that post-Communism, it is not a retrograde step to take to adopt a constitutional model that has similarities to the one being replaced. This is not to say that these countries had no other choice. Semipresidential constitution, which has its roots in the French constitution of 1962 might have been the primary choice in the post Soviet milieu, but viable models were available in the form of American and British constitutions. Moreover, the choices pertaining to constitutional reform in countries such as Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia can neither be attributed to “Communist legacy or postcommunist clientalism”[11]. Ukraine is another interesting case, where the adoption of semipresidential constitution was seen as a progressive continuation of Communist executive diarchy. On the other hand, countries such as Armenia and Moldova still have poorly developed constitutions.
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[2] Meyer, W. D. (1995). Facing the Post-Communist Reality: Lawyers in Private Practice in Central and Eastern Europe and the Republics of the Former Soviet Union. Law and Policy in International Business, 26(4), 1019-1059.
[3] Postcommunist Shuffle. (2008, Wntr). The Wilson Quarterly, 32, 87+.
[4] Meyer, W. D. (1995). Facing the Post-Communist Reality: Lawyers in Private Practice in Central and Eastern Europe and the Republics of the Former Soviet Union. Law and Policy in International Business, 26(4), 1019-1059.
[5] Eastern Europe and the Republics of the Former U.S.S.R. (1992). 30+.
[6] Mamadouh, V. (2009). Establishing a Constitution for Europe during European Union Enlargement? Visions of ‘Europe’ in the Referenda Campaigns in France and the Netherlands. Journal of Cultural Geography, 26(3), 305+.
[7] Bravo, K. E. (2007). Smoke, Mirrors, and the Joker in the Pack: On Transitioning to Democracy and the Rule of Law in Post-Soviet Armenia. Houston Journal of International Law, 29(3), 489+
[8] Bravo, K. E. (2007). Smoke, Mirrors, and the Joker in the Pack: On Transitioning to Democracy and the Rule of Law in Post-Soviet Armenia. Houston Journal of International Law, 29(3), 489+
[9] Expansions and Contradictions; European Union Wrestles with Problems of a Growing Family. (2004, February 1). The Washington Times, p. A09.
[10] Matsuzato, K. (2006). Differing Dynamics of Semipresidentialism across Euro/eurasian Borders: Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Moldova, and Armenia. Demokratizatsiya, 14(3), 317+.
[11] Matsuzato, K. (2006). Differing Dynamics of Semipresidentialism across Euro/eurasian Borders: Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Moldova, and Armenia. Demokratizatsiya, 14(3), 317+.