APPROVED: T. David Mason, Major Professor Steve Cobb, Minor Professor Patrick T. Brandt, Committee Member J. Michael Greig, Committee Member Steven Forde, Graduate Program Coordinator James Meernik, Chair of the Department of Political Science Sandra L. Terrell, Dean of the Robert B. Toulouse School of Graduate Studies TOO ILL TO FIND THE CURE? – HEALTH CARE SECTOR SUCCESS IN THE NEW DEMOCRACIES OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE Dagmar Radin, B.A., M.A. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 2006