Description
Book SynopsisThis distinctive book presents valuable new research on the political and economic elites that have emerged in Central and Eastern Europe since the demise of state socialism. Integrating theoretically informed analysis with fresh empirical data, the contributors significantly enhance our understanding of the evolution and interplay of elites in the post-communist period. Leading experts explore the elite circulations, differentiations, and competitions that now underpin but in some countries also still inhibitdemocratic stability and economic growth. A provocative concluding chapter assesses the century-long confrontation between elite theory and Marxism and where they stand today, after state socialismOs collapse.
Trade ReviewThis is an interesting book that has many fine chapters and contains some interesting ideas. * Seer *
Elites after State Socialism is an edited collection of informative examinations of elite dynamics in nine East European countries in the 1990s. It is impossible to encompass here all questions and conclusions that readers might find interesting in the book: the relationship between post-socialist elites and democratic advance; the disjunction between elite ideas and practices; the considerable isolation of political elites from the public; the diverging and often clashing interests within and between political and economic elites, the process of elite mobility and so on. Elites after State Socialism adds to a growing body of research on post-socialist politics and society in Eastern Europe. The chapters would be of interest to people trying to understand the process of contemporary economic and political decision-making in the nine individual countries. * Balkan Academic News *
No review can do justice to the wealth of informed comment and detailed analysis of survey and other evidence in this book. * Sociology *
The contributions are, without exeption, thoughtful and accessible. -- William Schonfeld * Contemporary Sociology *
An excellent collection. . . . The essays cohere well, and we are able to hear a number of distinctive 'voices' on the elites question. . . . The scholarship meets the highest standard, and the writing is clear and accessible. A substantial advance in the literature both on post-communism and on elites. -- Thomas A. Baylis, University of Texas at San Antonio
Here is a book that actually lives up to its billing. The editors claim that it is "a substantial advance in the literature on postcolonialist politics and societies and in the comparative study of elites" (p. ix). It is exactly that. This book is a welcome and major advance in the study of elites which should stimulate following up and replication. * Canadian Slavonic Papers *
Much of the recent analysis on postcommunist states focuses on elites, and the Higley and Lengyel book is a valuable contribution to this literature. The scope of the volume provides a wide and diverse collection of data and analysis on the region. * Canadian Journal of Political Science *
A very useful volume on postcommunist elites. * Slavic Review *
This book makes for worthy reading. * Slavic and East European Journal *
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Acknowledgments Chapter 2 Preface Chapter 3 1 Introduction: Elite Configurations after State Socialism Part 4 I: POLITICAL ELITE CHANGE Chapter 5 2 The Czech Republic: New Elites and Social Change Chapter 6 3 Slovakia: Elite Disunity and Convergence Chapter 7 4 Hungary: Elites and the Use and Abuse of Democratic Institutions Chapter 8 5 Poland: The Political Elite’s Transformational Correctness Chapter 9 6 East Germany: Elite Change and Democracy’s “Instant Success” Chapter 10 7 Serbia: The Adaptive Reconstruction of Elites Part 11 II: ECONOMIC ELITE CHANGE Chapter 12 8 Croatia: The Circulation and Reproduction of Managerial and Political Elites Chapter 13 9 Hungary: Banker and Managers after State Socialism Chapter 14 10 Russia: The Oil Elite’s Evolution, Divisions, and Outlooks Chapter 15 11 Bulgaria: Economic Elites in the 1990s Chapter 16 12 Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland: Pre-Socialist Legacies among Post-Socialist Business Elites Chapter 17 Epilogue: Elite Theory versus Marxism: The Twentieth Century’s Verdict Chapter 18 Index Chapter 19 About the Editors and Contributors
