The global financial and economic crisis has taken its toll on national politics. Ranging from doubts over the legitimacy of capitalism in the West to the (re)election of socialist leaders and military coups in some parts of the South and conflict escalation all across the Middle East and South Asia, the effects of the recent crisis brought into attention a series of governance related issues. Everyone had to look into their own yard, count the livestock and reflect. The aftermath pushed higher on the public agenda a series of questions regarding the current international governance arrangement. What was the impact of the crisis on civil rights protection in transition countries? How appropriate were the anti-crisis policy responses in Eastern Europe and what can be learned from them? What was the impact on local democratic construction in selected countries? The current issue of the Romanian Journal of Political Science will try to tackle some of these issues.