This course focuses on the two most important facets of the post-communist transition in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union: the political transition towards democracy (or new kinds of authoritarianism) and the economic transition towards capitalism. We briefly discuss the pre-communist and communist background, including a quick review of the main institutions of the communist system and of the various theories of the system’s collapse. Next, we provide an overview of the geographic and temporal patterns of economic and political reforms after the collapse of communism. The main part of the course will be to read and critique different theories that explain these differential reform trajectories of ex-communist countries, including historical legacies, international incentives and pressures, and institutional design.