"Seán Hanley’s book deals with the fortunes and travails of this creed put into political practice, enlightening the reader on the concrete ways of tacit assumptions being politically voiced or, after all, ‘materialised’. But this monograph goes beyond that and can be considered a major contribution to the study of Czech and postcommunist party politics. In spite of being relatively short, the book gives the kind of impression usually produced by ‘definitive accounts’, but it leaves enough room for additional thoughts and offers inspiration for further research. Hanley’s book is strong in many respects: it is a nice example of the path-dependency approach and frequently it challenges (sometimes demolishes) the many conventional assumptions and clichés used to explain the development of post-communist party politics. Hanley’s intelligent work on the Czech case has methodological implications for the entire field of study." - Peter Ucen, Comenius University, Bratislava'This monograph is essential reading for postgraduates and academics working in cognate fields' - Andrew Cook, University of Newcastle