Transition to Democracy in Eastern Europe and Russia: Impact on Politics, Economy and Culture

by Barbara Wejnert

Overview

Using examples of democratic changes in former Communist states, Wejnert provides a dual-level conceptual framework that concentrates on objectification of the fundamental and unique roles of various mechanisms and components of transition. The first of these two levels is an integrative framework of the diverse social processes of transition. Here, the essays included examine the effects of global and domestic factors, and diffusion on the articulation of transition from communism. The second level is a similarly integrative framework of the interrelation of three distinct social entities of economy, polity, and culture as recorded at a time-point when the polity-economy-culture components of the transition are inserted into the processes of social change.

This collection brings together Eastern European, Russian, and American scholars as well as prominent political figures from democratically elected East European governments. Included are Jan Kavan, Vice-Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and Grzegorz Kolodko of Poland, the designer of the post-communist therapy economic plan. The theoretical and pratically oriented papers are enriched by the broad perspective of the book, making it particularly useful to scholars, students, and researchers of Eastern Europe and Russia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275972349
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	03/30/2002
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

BARBARA WEJNERT teaches Political Sociology at Cornell University, where she is involved in research on world-wide spread of democracy. Among her book publications are Women in Post-Communism and Theoretical and Empirical Approaches to Quality of Life.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Integration of the Processes and Components of Transition to Democracy by Barbara Wejnert
Transition to Democracy: Implications on Politics
McCarthyism has a New Name—"Lustration": A Personal Recount of Political Events by Jan Kavan
The Contribution of Collective Protests to the Softening of Communist Regimes in East Central Europe by Barbara Wejnert
A Line of Blood: How December, 1970 Prepared Polish Workers for Political Transition in 1989 by Jack M. Bloom
Transition to Democracy: Impact on Ecomomy
Transitional Economies and Income Inequality: The Case of Estonia by Nancy Brandon Tuma, Mikk Titma, and Rein Murakas
Fiscal Policy and Capital Formation in Transition Economies by Grzegorz W. Kolodko
Privatization Politics in Russia: Success or Failure? Privatization and the Development of Corporate Governance Structure by Alexei Makeshin
Transition to Democracy: Social Problems and Policy Issues
Nouveaux Riches vs Nouveaux Pauvres: Policy Making in Transition Economies by Grzegorz W. Kolodko
Polish Working Class's Vision of a Well Ordered Economy by Juliusz Gardawski
A Country in Transition: Health Crisis in Ukraine with Focus on Tobacco and Alcohol by Lara A. Romaniuk
Polish Women during Transition to Democracy: A Preliminary Research Report by J. Mayone Stycos and Barbara Wejnert
Transition to Democracy: Impact on Culture
Cultural and Civic Movements Prefiguring the Breakdown of the Socialist Regime in Yugoslavia by Stjepan Gredelj
The Artist's Freedom and Democracy by Maria Nowakowska Stycos and Grazyna Borkowska
The Politics of Architecture and Architecture of Politics by Sergei Zherebkin and Barbara Wejnert
Concluding Remarks
The Impact of Democratic Transitions on Politics, Economy, and Culture: Lessons from Eastern Europe and Russia by Barbara Wejnert
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Fifteen chapters cover various aspects of democratization in the former Soviet Bloc, including its political, economic, and cultural impacts, social problems, and policy implications. Particular attention is given to workers' movements and collective protests, income inequality, privatization, health crises, the condition of women, artistic freedom, and architecture. Contributors include American and Eastern European government officials and scholars of sociology, literature, economics, and philosophy. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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