<P>Covering 10 years of post-communist political change in eastern Europe, this work examines the capacity of the former ruling parties to attract contemporary voters and their role in contributing to the consolidation of the new democratic regimes. Attention is paid to the comparative processes of party development in terms of party activity becoming more professional, aspects of party system institutionalization, major dimensions of institutional and electoral development, and party finances. A range of countries are surveyed to throw light on these processes, and broad analysis conducted on the nature of conservatism in post-communist Europe and the role of transnational party cooperation in fostering processes of Europeanization.</P>