Research Overviews ¬ Elites in Transition

Elites in Transition
Elite Research in Central and Eastern Europe

Edited by Heinrich Best, Ulrike Becker
prepared by Natalija Schleinstein and Dagmar Sucker in collaboration with Erika Schwefel
Opladen: Leske + Budrich 1997, 250 pages
ISBN 3-8100-1844-9
EUR 27,90 (To be obtained only at booksellers)

Contrary to a widely-held assumption, the social sciences in Eastern Europe have, since the beginning of the sixties, at the latest, established themselves as a discipline, even in what were then the socialist countries. Faced with faltering political acceptance, the social sciences were nevertheless able to generate a multitude of empirical research results. Yet, until 1989, essential research questions and some areas of the social sciences remained closeted, because they were incompatible with Marxist-Leninist ideology. 

Among those themes neglected, was also that of elite research. This topic was received with special virulence in Eastern Europe particularly due to the rapid political and social changes: Are the events in the countries of Eastern Europe leading to a change of elites? Are there “new elites” or “alternative elites”, respectively? Is there a power struggle between old and new elites? How does the change of elites progress and manifest itself? etc. 

For Western observers the access to and understanding of this already many-layered, impenetrable process is further complicated by barriers of language and culture, as well as by an insufficient supply of scientific publications. The Social Science Information Centre has, therefore, utilized all of its contacts to social scientists from Eastern Europe and is presenting with this volume a representative ac-count of elite research in Eastern Europe. The English-language reports describe the situation in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Russia, the Baltic Countries, the Ukraine, and the New Federal States of Germany. The reports from these countries are complemented by bibliographies of the most important publications since 1990. 

Research Overviews ¬ Elites in Transition