Prof Vesselin Dimitrov

This course is available on the MSc in European and International Politics and Policy, MSc in European and International Politics and Policy (LSE and Bocconi), MSc in European and International Politics and Policy (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in Political Science (Conflict Studies and Comparative Politics) and MSc in Political Science (Political Behaviour). This course is freely available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. It does not require permission. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process. For information on controlled access courses, including eligibility, application processes, deadlines, and departmental contact details, please refer to the Controlled Access Courses webpage.

How to apply: To apply for a place on this course, please submit a short statement of no more than 200 words via LfY. Your statement should outline your reasons for applying and explain how the course will support your academic and/or career goals. If applicable, you should also demonstrate how you meet any pre-requisites listed in the course guide. If the course is compulsory for your programme, no written statement is required.

Priority for places on Government (GV) courses will be given first to students for whom the course is compulsory. Where applicable, priority will then be given to students on the Department of Government programmes listed in the ‘Availability’ section of the course guide, followed by students on other programmes listed in that section. Students on all other programmes will be considered next, where a course is available as an outside option. You should ensure that you meet any pre-requisites listed in the course guide before applying. Places on capped courses cannot be guaranteed. Where a course is oversubscribed, places will be allocated based on programme priority and the written statement.

Deadline for applications: The deadline for applications is 12:00 noon on Friday 25 September 2026. You can expect to be informed of the outcome of your application by 12:00 noon on Monday 28 September 2026. Any places remaining after this date will be allocated based on priority and written statement - up until course selection closes.

For queries contact: gov.msc@lse.ac.uk.

Central and Eastern Europe has experienced radical political, social and economic changes in the last few decades, with a revolutionary transition from communism to liberal democracy in 1989, democratic backsliding and rise of authoritarianism since 2010, rapid economic progress, ever-closer integration with the European Union as well as a backlash against the integration process, and the rise of nationalism in many forms, ranging from civil wars and state collapse in the 1990s to the increasing role of populist nationalist parties since 2010.

This course aims to provide students with an in-depth analytical assessment of these radical changes, rooted in the literature on democratisation and democratic backsliding, populism, nationalism and European integration. 

Students will gain empirical knowledge of the region’s politics, a deeper theoretical understanding of key issues in political science, as well as crucial analytical skills.

10 hours of lectures and 20 hours of seminars in the Autumn Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn Term.

Essay (2000 words) in Autumn Term Week 7.

Students are required to produce one essay in the Autumn Term.

V Dimitrov, K H Goetz and H Wollmann, Governing after Communism: Institutions and Policymaking; M A Vachudova, Europe Undivided: Democracy, Leverage, and Integration after Communism; A Lorenz and L H Anders (eds), Illiberal Trends and Anti-EU Politics in East Central Europe; L J Cohen, Broken Bonds: Yugoslavia's Disintegration and Balkan Politics in Transition; S White, P G Lewis and J Batt (eds), Developments in Central and East European Politics 5; A Przeworski, Democracy and the Market: Political and Economic Reforms in Eastern Europe and Latin America; J Elster et al, Institutional Design in Post-Communist Societies; R Taras (ed), Postcommunist Presidents; R Crampton, Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century, 2nd edn.

Exam (100%), duration: 120 Minutes in the January exam period.