Turkmenistan and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) are introduced into the scientific debate for the first time, their forms of governance over the past 15 years empirically compared and related to the prevailing concepts for capturing post-communist forms of rule.

Using case studies, the sublime thesis equating transformation with democratization is challenged. The newly designed "dimension cube" makes it possible to analyze, compare, and examine the individual facets of the emerging political regimes for stability and functionality.

The work is based on comprehensive foundational research, including extensive on-site investigations, interviews, translations, among others, of the two constitutions.