Suchergebnisse

The East-Central European post-socialist transformations have now reached a new stage, with the need to address the problems of further modernisation & maintenance in the context of the EU. The role of elites in this process is as intermediators between the influence of the European context & the needs & interests of differentiated internal social structures. Their attitudes & behaviour exhibit a high degree of internal fragmentation & division corresponding to various strategical orientations favouring various societal models. The post-socialist Czech economic elite was initially reproduced out of former state socialist managers & their cadre reserves. After the first phase of economic developments, inspired by neo-liberal radical privatisation & elements of 'shock therapy', & once the new, more European phase ushered in many new factors, there was a distinct decline in the number of 'old-new' economic elite on the scene. In the empirical part of the article the results of several surveys are used to briefly describe the changes in the composition of the Czech economic elite in the 1994-2005 period & to summarise their attitudes & behaviour. The analysis concludes that the current image of a liberal & pro-European Czech elite is consistent with the stable & remarkable progress of the Czech economy since 1999, the considerable wealth, strong profits, & high salaries enjoyed by top elites, & the enhancement of their role in the European economy. There are also some limitations & weak points that diverge from this general picture. The article's conclusions touch on the question of the role of the economic elite in the progress of arriving at more consensual attitudes & behaviour among societal elites as a whole, favouring further economic growth, modernisation & the strengthening of social cohesion in the context of the EU.

Explores the connections between elite & non-elite changes (ie, longer-term shifts in stratification & class systems) driving transitions from state socialism, using the example of Czechoslovakia before, during, & after the 1989 collapse of state socialism & post 1993 with its emergence as an independent Czech Republic. The development of a range of people holding midlevel positions inconsistent with their economic & political statuses as well as their education & other social & cultural capital is discussed as forming the basis of a dissident movement. The appearance of a new elite between the Velvet Revolution (Nov 1989) & the rise of a sovereign Czech Republic (Jan 1993) is examined in terms of economic & cultural elite circulation. By the mid-1990s, the Czech Republic was led by moderately conservative elites supported by younger & middle-aged, relatively well-educated, & enterprising people of Western orientation. Differences between political, economic, & cultural elites are evidenced. Processes of intragenerational mobility into elite statuses, 1988-1993, are considered to illustrate gains & losses among various Czech elite groups. Profiles of economic, political, & cultural elite are provided on the basis of 1994 survey data from 1,509 members of old state socialist & new postsocialist elite groups. Elite attitudes are also briefly assessed, drawing on 1994 survey data from 423 elites. Postindependence developments among Czech elites are scrutinized in light of changing economic & political conditions, showing how the democratic means of political elite alternation worked to unseat one set of elites & install previously marginalized elite groups. Findings indicate that the complexity of social & political realities does not allow for unequivocal support for explanations of elite change centered on elite reproduction or elite circulation. 24 References. J. Zendejas

Explores the connections between elite & non-elite changes (ie, longer-term shifts in stratification & class systems) driving transitions from state socialism, using the example of Czechoslovakia before, during, & after the 1989 collapse of state socialism & post 1993 with its emergence as an independent Czech Republic. The development of a range of people holding midlevel positions inconsistent with their economic & political statuses as well as their education & other social & cultural capital is discussed as forming the basis of a dissident movement. The appearance of a new elite between the Velvet Revolution (Nov 1989) & the rise of a sovereign Czech Republic (Jan 1993) is examined in terms of economic & cultural elite circulation. By the mid-1990s, the Czech Republic was led by moderately conservative elites supported by younger & middle-aged, relatively well-educated, & enterprising people of Western orientation. Differences between political, economic, & cultural elites are evidenced. Processes of intragenerational mobility into elite statuses, 1988-1993, are considered to illustrate gains & losses among various Czech elite groups. Profiles of economic, political, & cultural elite are provided on the basis of 1994 survey data from 1,509 members of old state socialist & new postsocialist elite groups. Elite attitudes are also briefly assessed, drawing on 1994 survey data from 423 elites. Postindependence developments among Czech elites are scrutinized in light of changing economic & political conditions, showing how the democratic means of political elite alternation worked to unseat one set of elites & install previously marginalized elite groups. Findings indicate that the complexity of social & political realities does not allow for unequivocal support for explanations of elite change centered on elite reproduction or elite circulation. 24 References. J. Zendejas