The Weakness of Civil Society in Post-Communist Europe by Marc Morjé s> Howard (review)

Abstract

786 SEER, 82, 3, 2004 'super-rich'elitist classwithin many of the transitioneconomies. It compares the various schools of thought largely captured within the 'political capital versus human capital' argument and tests a number of hypotheses. Szelenyi and Glassconclude that neither access to networksand political connections, nor personal qualificationsand skillsdetermine an individual'sentrance into the elite class of economies under transition. Again, this chapter is of an exceptional standard, highly accessible and presents critical reasoning in a logical manner. Itscontributionto the entirecollection is clearlyevident. In summary, stronger editing of the weaker sections (specificallychapters two and seven)would have added to a robustcollection of individualchapters. Aston Business School, Birmingham Jo CROTTY Howard, Marc Morje. The Weakness of CivilSocietyin Post-Communist Europe. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2003. Xiii + 2o6 pp. Illustrations . Tables. Notes. Appendices. Bibliography. Index. $24.00: ?I7.95 (paperback). MARC HOWARD'S studyof civil society in post-CommunistEurope opens with theparliamentaryelectionsin Germanyin i998. These electionswere marked by a mysteryparty calling itself 'BKD'. It soon transpiredthat this partywas sponsored by none other than BurgerKing ('BurgerKing furDeutschland'), and were happily making the most of the surroundingmedia hype. Howard uses this incident to illustrate the principle thesis of his study, that 'postcommunist societies have been far more successful in developing a private "hamburger society" than they have been in creating an actively engaged "civilsociety"in the public sphere'(p. xii). This state of social disengagement,Howard argues,is a directconsequence of mandatoryparticipationin state-controlledorganizationsunder Communism (chaptertwo). Post-Communistpopulationsareloath to participatein any kind of public activities,including church-going, playing sports,involvement in labour unions, and other such pastimes that are perceived to fosterpublicspiritedness . The persistence of private networks, which cultivate closed channels and strong ties represent another feature of the Communist background that has contributed to an 'undermined' civic consciousness in post-Communist Europe. The overall dissatisfaction of post-Communist citizens with the new political system adds yet another incentive for them 'to withdraw even furtherfrom public activities'and to display 'post-communist disappointment'. Howard claims that the latter factor has not been given its due significance by those studying societal structures in post-Communist countries. Chapter three deals, unfortunately rather late in the volume, with the nature of 'civil society'. The chapter is engaging and puts the author's conception of civil society in the context of Granovetta's classic and Putnam's latest arguments about the importance of 'weak ties' and their relation to democratization. In post-Communist countries in the language of network theory private networks have retained their 'strong ties' and have not developed the kind of cross-cutting 'weak ties' that would open the door to a wider set of acquaintances, contacts, and opportunities. This reflects on the REVIEWS 787 enduring peculiarity of the distinction between public and private in postCommunist societiesand on the blockedchannels for democratization. The book relies predominantly on interview data and surveys, one being the 1995-97 World Values Survey (WVS), and the other a personal study carried out by the author. The WVS surveyed, across countries around the world, membershipof the followingnine typesof organization:(i) churchand religious organizations, (2) sports and recreation clubs, (3) educational, cultural or artistic organizations, (4) labour unions, (5)political parties or movements, (6)environmentalorganizations,(7)professionalassociations,(8) charitable organizations, and (g) any other voluntary organization (p. 55). The results of Howard's study include analysis of the responses to a survey carriedout in Russia and Germanyin I999. Howard considersthe findingsof the WorldValues Surveyin chapterfour, testifying that the older the democracy or post-authoritarian country, the higher its rates of organization membership, and concludes that postCommunist countriesgenerallyhave low ratesof organizationmembership. In chapter five he explains why this is the case with reference to the three overridingfactors for post-Communist civil weakness. Importantly, Howard is concerned with studyingordinarycitizensratherthan elitesand institutions. Such a focus, he suggests,reveals a greateraffinitybetween post-Communist societies,and hasimplicationsfortheprospectsfordemocracyand democratic stabilityin the region. Given the powerful and lasting legacy of the Communist experience, Howard does not envisage the possibilityof rapidand radicalchange in 'civic skills'.He does suggesttwopotentialmechanismsforchange:one generational (throughthe gradualmeans of replacing older people) and one 'facilitatedby a more active role of the state in supporting and working with voluntary organisations,and by relatingthem to...