Lessons Not Learned: Problems with Western Aid for Law Reform in Postcommunist Countries

Publication Date: April 2005

Publisher: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Author(s): Wade Channell

Research Area: Law and ethics; Politics

Type: Report

Abstract:

The fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 and the subsequent breakup of the Soviet Union presented an unparalleled opportunity for fundamental political and economic change in more than two dozen countries. As postcommunist countries sought to attain the economic development of their Western neighbors, it became clear that the existing framework of laws and institutions would not support the desired growth. Reformers and development experts soon identified a panoply of gaps and shortcomings in financial resources, human resources, and organizational capacity, all of which appeared ripe for outside assistance.