Bio: Dr Dimitrov's research interests focus on the role of government institutions and political parties in transitions from one political, economic and social system to another. He has worked on the origins of the Cold War and the transition to Communism in Central and Eastern Europe in the 1940s, with a particular emphasis on the role of Stalin and the Central and East European governments and communist parties. His work on the post-1989 political and economic transition in Central and Eastern Europe has focused on the development of effective government institutions, the impact of those institutions on fiscal policy, and the effect of accession to the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) on the governments' fiscal policy choices.