Politics and policing in post-communist Europe

The chapter provides a review based on over 200 papers on police and politics in 25 European states that transitioned away from Communist rule in the 1980s and 90s. By examining these countries in three groups according to Freedom House classifications ('not free', 'partly free' and 'free') the paper demonstrates the parallels between political transformations and policing. State and police are inseparable, and changes in one are reflected in the other. In spite of deformations that take the place of transformation in less free states, there is evidence of creative public participation in policing oversight. The chapter supports further work in an active field of knowledge production, particularly comparative work within the post-communist world and between post-communist and other states to helps develop theory.