Max Weber's Concept of Patrimonialism and the Soviet System

Abstract

The concept of patrimonial domination was at first underutilized in western social science and then often used without proper clarification of its methodological basis. When the Soviet system was characterized as patrimonial, conceptual analysis was also generally lacking. In the article an attempt is made to fill in the gap between Weberian sociological theory and historical studies of Soviet society. It is argued that, although the concept of patrimonialism is applicable to the Stalinist system, this concept is not sufficient for the description of the Soviet state throughout its history. It is assumed in the article that Weber's concept of Beamtenmherrschaft might be more appropriate for the analysis of the post-Stalinist political regime in the USSR.