Post-socialist Eastern Europe Research Articles

How Far Does the Diverse Economies Approach Take Us?

How Far Does the Diverse Economies Approach Take Us?

Joe Biden amerikai elnök külpolitikai szerepfelfogásának vizsgálata az orosz-ukrán konfliktus kapcsán

According to Role Theory, which is derived from sociology and psychology, all individuals assume a role that is adapted to a particular situation, living conditions, and expectations.This basic idea has also been incorporated into the foreign policy analysis with the intention of gaining insight into the hidden parts of foreign policy decision-making. This study focuses on U.S. president Joe Biden’s role with regard to conceptions about the Russo-Ukrainian War and his relations with post-socialist Eastern European. After the theoretical section, the article analyses remarks made by Biden in the presidential election during the Ukrainian war’s first half year. These remarks reveal his ideology, while the external impacts determine his decision-making and his “mental map.” As a result, we can assess that Biden has assumed the role of the “protector of Faith,” namely the protector of the liberal democratic order against the aggressive pressure of autocracy represented by China and Russia. To perform this role, Biden, as the U.S. president, reinforces U.S. alliances and ensures security as well as financial and humanitarian help to Ukraine. In this situation the importance of Eastern Europe heightens significantly, not because of the military power of these countries, but because of their geographical location on NATO’s Eastern flank.

Evolving networks: International sponsors of post-socialist art scenes

ABSTRACT In the countries of the former Soviet Bloc, the state had controlled art and culture according to strict ideological criteria – but it also subsidized cultural production. After 1989, the cultural infrastructure largely collapsed together with the state. The vacuum following socialist state subsidy opened up opportunities that were partially seized by international sponsors in the East-Central European region; the Soros Foundation and the ERSTE Stiftung were the two most important of them. Both organizations developed an extensive network of cultural workers across post-socialist Eastern Europe. With their programmes, the two foundations made considerable efforts to make known and brand East and Southeast European art on an international stage. Nevertheless, they, or rather their relevance for the cultural field of post-socialist East-Central Europe, are hardly known outside the region. Based on the insight of central actors in both these networks, this contribution revisits the activities of the two major donors and assesses their impact from today’s perspective.

Srbija između zapadnog individualizma i pravoslavnog kolektivizma

The paper discusses the problems that come with the contradictions between individualism and collectivism. Discussions about these contradictions are still present in academic circles today. In Eastern European countries, individualism became relevant after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Up to then, the collectivist spirit prevailed. By accepting neoliberalism, post-socialist Eastern European countries began economic reform, including further educational reform, health reform, cultural reform, etc. This reform also meant the transition from collectivism to individualism because modern neoliberal capitalism belongs to individualism, in which the main focus is on the individual as the largest consumer. The transition to neoliberal capitalism led to a considerable number of workers losing their jobs after the liberalization, deregulation, and privatization of the Serbian economy, resulting in the lifeless demographic image of Serbia, which worsens significantly yearly. Today, Serbia remains without a working-age population, which, in addition to young and highly educated workers, also consists of artisans of various occupations. For the Serbian political elites, the path to the EU does not lead to the question. We've been on that road for twenty years, and it doesn't seem like we've moved much since the beginning. According to the principle, "one step forward, two steps back."

Building Stronger Democracies Through Broader Participation: Can Community Organizing Meet the Challenge?

Abstract The rise of the third sector could not guard democracies against backsliding in postsocialist Eastern Europe. The nonprofit approach deprived associational life of its conflictive and political character and the large but underfunded service sector could not effectively redress the harms of capitalist transition. This allowed antidemocratic parties and movements to push back on liberal democracy and shrink the civic space. What is a new vision of civil society that engages civic organizations in politics and transforms democracy from an elitist ideal into a popular tool for people of all ranks? Community organizing, combined with a radical analysis, is one plausible answer. The article explores the possibility, necessity, and practical challenges of transformative constituency-based organizing for advancing a more substantive democracy. The case of The City Is for All, a Hungarian grassroots housing organization, presents a particular kind of organizing that became a North Star for those who believe that poor people have a strategic place in the fight to replace autocratization with egalitarian democracy.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Class Dynamics from Socialism to Post-Socialism

Introduction to the Special Issue on Class Dynamics from Socialism to Post-Socialism

Situating the Internet as infrastructure: the case of post-socialist Lithuania

Although the Internet is a key global infrastructure, it is still often perceived in an abstract manner by the general public, which tends to disregard how the Internet emerges in different places. In contrast, this paper situates the Internet as infrastructure ­development in post-socialist Lithuania against the backdrop of multi-sited fieldwork within its telecom industry. Drawing on fieldwork material analysis comprised of qualitative interviews, participatory observation and archival research as well as previous research from media studies, this paper contributes to Internet studies via three conceptual motifs that emerged from fieldwork material—infrastructuring practices, geopolitical imaginaries and critical negotiations—that were evaluated in order to research media infrastructures and argue for the situated analysis of infrastructural labour, geopolitics and critique that frame Internet development. It further argues for the need to explore Internet infrastructure developments in post-socialist Eastern Europe that remain unrepresented in media infrastructures research, despite the rich potential of case studies into the simultaneous emergence of the Internet within new nation states.

“Paradoxical” Dissatisfaction among Post-Socialist Farmers with the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy: A Study of Farmers’ Subjectivities in Rural Poland

Farmers in post-socialist Central and Eastern Europe are the major beneficiaries of the European Union’s (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), at least in monetary terms. Why, then, are they dissatisfied with the CAP? This study aims to understand farmers’ subjectivities (i.e., judgments shaped by personal opinions and feelings) regarding CAP and compares these subjectivities to the actual impact of CAP in rural areas. It is based on empirical research in the Błaszki commune in central Poland, where the farmers’ movement Agrounia originated. The study has found that in addition to its benefits, CAP created a number of new problems, such as socio-economic differentiation and related tensions in rural communities, misuse of the CAP’s direct payments, disappearance of rural (peasant) lifestyle, and environmental degradation. The empirical material has also revealed the fragile position of Polish farmers in the domestic market, which affects their dignity and self-esteem. Agrounia seeks to address the latter issue, yet it faces the problems of farmer mobilization and negative representation in the media. This article contributes to the discussions about the applicability of CAP in the post-socialist context, the impact of farmers’ subjectivities on their practices, and the farmers’ mobilization and social movements in post-socialist countries.

‘How it all turned out alright’: Autofiction as Memory Form in Irena Dousková’s Novels about Childhood and Youth in Post-1968 Czechoslovakia

Autofictions and memoirs about growing up in late socialism have proliferated in Czech as well as in other postsocialist Eastern European literatures. These retrospective texts are often tinged with nostalgia and infused with irony and humour. Two of the most popular texts of this genre in the Czech Republic are Irena Dousková’s autofictional books Hrdý Budžes [B. Proudew] and Oněgin byl Rusák [Onegin Was a Rusky]. The Czech author writes about growing-up in a non-conformist family dealing with everyday life in socialist Czechoslovakia. After discussing Dousková’s books as autofiction the article will take a closer look at the poetics of childhood autofictions and their contribution to cultures of remembering socialism in comparison to autobiographies. It will discuss the ways how writing about childhood creates a specific socialist identity through scarcity, ingenuity, and working with/against restraints and the way humour is used to transmit difficult memories.

THE BRANDED NATIONAL IMAGINATION AND ITS LIMITS: INSIGHTS FROM THE POSTSOCIALIST EXPERIENCE

This article traces the limits of branding as a tool for (re)constructingnations as 'imagined communities' (Anderson 1983). Drawing on examples from post-socialist Eastern Europe, I analyse discourses and practices of nation branding from a critical perspective, rooted in the theoretical traditions of political economy and cultural studies. Focusing more closely on branding campaigns implemented by post-Soviet Ukraine and post-war Kosovo — two nations seeking to assert themselves as independent actors on the global stage — I consider the impact of nation branding on national identities and democratic governance. I identify three interconnected limits of the branded national imagination as a structuring discourse for nation building. First, the branded national imagination is structured through its subjection to a foregin gaze; second, it is heavily dependent on commercial transnational media; and third, it produces branded national subjectivities that contradict the lived experiences of national populations. I argue that while nation branding effectively depoliticises national (re)definition, it may in fact serve to reinvigorate ethnic nationalisms in the post-socialist region. Finally, I suggest that although we must be aware of local histories and legacies, the post-socialist experience can inform our understanding of the structuring limits of the branded national imagination in other post-conflict and post-colonial contexts as well.

The Effects of Open Space on Reducing Workplace Stress: Case Study of Business Park in the Post-Socialist Urban Setting

Working people spend around 54% of their waking hours at a workplace, according to recent statistics. Work-related stress is unavoidable, and it can damage the health of employees and affect business performance. In this paper, we argue that open space inside the workplace environment can have a positive influence on reducing overall stress levels in all the categories of users. To our knowledge, there is a significant lack of research considering specific business districts and the gated complexes called business parks, especially in post-socialist Eastern European cities, where there they are still a novelty. Empirical research in this study is on the single case study of Business Park “Airport city” in Belgrade, Serbia. Its main focus is on the survey conducted with 235 participants based on a questionnaire, which examines the relation between workplace stress and workplace environments. The findings from the questionnaire show that the frequency, duration, and activity of open space usage influence the stress levels of employees in this specific workplace, while it is not visible relating to their age and gender. Additionally, final implications suggest that improved open space, such as well-expected greenery, but also the urban design non-associative to workspace and the socialization and exercise amenities customized for frequent and short work breaks, can facilitate the overall well-being of employees. They are innovative elements in relatively underdeveloped research on stress measures with open space usage characteristics in the specific (gated) workplace setting.

The constitutional human rights in Uzbekistan: positivism, traditionalism, and a cautious shift towards international legal standards

Until recently, unofficial interpretations of the situation with human rights had remained as an unspoken taboo in Uzbekistan, whereas foreign observers harshly criticized the country, pointing out systematic violations and restrictions of rights by the state. Indeed, not many could predict that the new President Shavkat Mirziyoev, who was elected in 2016, would initiate steps towards improving the human rights situation and, simultaneously, face specific challenges. The 1992 Constitution was developed within the complex transition process from socialism to market economy. This Constitution devotes an entire chapter to human and citizens’ rights. Initially, some authors expected that the Constitution would integrate rights in the context of natural-legal ideas. However, Uzbekistan has largely preserved and strengthened the positivist approach towards constitutional rights, designating the state to grant and limit those rights. The paradox of this situation is that Uzbekistan’s tendencies conflict with the general trends of the post-socialist constitutionalism since the country practically did not change constitutional provisions’ evolutionary development. On the other hand, in the post-socialist Eastern European countries and some former USSR republics, the collapse of socialism led to a constitutional revolution. The author applies historical analysis and cognitive constitutionalism methods to explain a paradox of impossibility to root natural-legal ideas within the (1) deeply-rooted Soviet positivism and (2) revived pre-Soviet traditionalism. On the other hand, the historical 1992 Constitution preparatory process, guided by the special Working group and headed by Islam Karimov, and the theory of human rights in Uzbekistan inherited a strong influence from the doctrine of the Soviet constitutionalism; its positivism, dogmatism and normativism. On the one hand, the author focuses on the impact of traditionalism revived after 1991 in national customs, behavioural attitudes, or social values; and paternalism that had transformed into a “super-presidentialism”, which widely continued a principle of the state’s priority above the individual. In conclusion, the author points to the existing legal imperfections of the constitutional text, and offers approaches to shorten the gap between the supporters of positivism in the 1992 Constitution and the natural right theory’s followers.

Dispositif Analysis in Eastern Europe: The Outline of a Research Program

The article discusses uses of dispositif analysis inspired by Michel Foucault’s late works, in a context different from the original one. The author presents the main methodological assumptions of dispositif analysis and the factors which result in its critical and interdisciplinary potential not being fully exploited at present. Based on a literature review of dispositif analysis in post-socialist Eastern Europe, the author formulates an interdisciplinary research program aimed at adapting this approach to the study of East European power networks, taking into account both its different historical, cultural, and geopolitical context – compared to the one of West European countries – and Foucault’s conception of neoliberalism. Methodological recommendations are presented in two research areas: 1) labor in the Polish post-transformation society; and 2) reactions to pedophilia in the Polish Catholic Church.

Beyond transparency: the communist-era secret police archives in postsocialist Eastern Europe

ABSTRACT The communist-era secret police archives have a peculiar afterlife in postsocialist Eastern Europe. On the one hand, those archives have become the site to articulate different visions of justice and social transformation and harboured the modernist promise of transparency, and, on the other, the secret police archives, especially in Poland, have become the object of popular suspicions of treachery and secrecy, with respect to their informational content, political instrumentalization, and highly restricted public access. This article focuses on the contentious popular cultural-political life of the communist-era secret police archives in postsocialist Poland. It examines the way those archives have come to produce such ambivalent desires and attachments across social groups and classes, and become part of hegemonic political struggles. Specifically, I focus on Poland’s state-run Institute of National Remembrance, which manages those archives and prosecutes the ‘crimes against the Polish nation.’ By drawing on my ethnographic research at this Institute and analysing popular cultural productions, especially, the ‘documentary-play’ called ‘Files,’ performed by the well-known ex-dissident ‘Theater of the Eighth Day,’ my article shows how this Institute and theatre performance seek to popularize different understandings of the archive and forms of knowing, feeling, and doing.

Sight and Touch between East and West

In this Forum contribution, I develop the idea of the learnings of post-socialism beyond Eastern Europe. I propose retaining the distinctness of the peripheral vision ‘from the East’ and purposely keeping its ‘provinciality’ in order to illuminate the qualities and shortcomings of the theory at the centre. The note starts with an ethnographic encounter in Riga and draws on it to show how the peripheral vision of post-socialist Eastern Europe can challenge the stubborn boundary between morality and social theory.

Class Cultures in Postsocialist Eastern Europe

Class Cultures in Postsocialist Eastern Europe

Transition shocks during adulthood and health a few decades later in post-socialist Central and Eastern Europe

BackgroundHealth of the population of post-socialist Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries lags behind the European Union average. Our aim in this paper is to analyse the link between transition shocks and health two-three decades later.MethodsWe use retrospective data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. We estimate the implications of stressful periods, financial hardships and job loss occurring around the transition (1987–1993) on subjective and objective measures of health in 2017. We compare these implications across groups of CEE countries and with the health implications of similar difficulties reported by individuals from Western Europe. We also compare the health implications of difficulties occurring around the transition to difficulties occurring before or after the transition.ResultsIn the CEE region there is a peak in the timing of difficulties around the transition. Stressful periods, financial difficulties and job loss around the period of transition are generally associated with worse subjective and objective health at older ages in all groups of CEE countries, even after netting out the effect of childhood health and demographic factors. However, the consequences of hardships due to the transition are not specific, health implications of these difficulties seem to be similar to the implications of other shocks possibly unrelated to the transition.ConclusionsThe high fraction of individuals experiencing stress, financial difficulties and job loss around the transition contributed to the current health disadvantage in the CEE region. As similar shocks in the West and before or after the transition had similar health implications, our results draw the attention to the long-lasting impacts of psychosocial stress and financial hardship during adulthood on later health over the life course.

Transnational Culture: From Diasporic Nationalism to Cultural Citizenship

Transnational migration and the politics of multiculturalism, despite all their discrepancies, are making the cultural dimensions more and more important, as the cultural rights of minorities and immigrants are becoming an essential part of citizenship. The article questions transnational cultural practices in relation to citizenship by exploring two waves of the Lithuanian and other East European emigration to the USA of two periods – after the WWII and after the Cold War. Based on the ethnographic fieldwork done in Chicago in 2006 and 2013 two patterns of transnational culture are revealed – diasporic (homeland) nationalism as well as cultural citizenship. It is sought to prove that the first pattern is shaped in the form of ethno-cultural community in exile and based on the imperative ‘to save the national culture’ which became under siege in homeland, while the second pattern is enacted as inter-ethnic networking, and it is based on social remittances and habits of moral economy brought from the post-socialist Eastern Europe.

State capitalism à la Belarus

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarus followed a separate path. Nowhere else in post-socialist Eastern Europe did the state play such an important role in the economy. From 2007 onwards, this model reached the limits of its capacity, not least because Russia increased the price of crude oil and natural gas supplies to Belarus. The government in Minsk took out an increasing number of foreign loans. In 2015, the decision was made to pursue a new monetary and fiscal policy: the exchange rate was deregulated and the deficit in the state budget was reduced. However, all the large enterprises remained under state control. The country is more dependent on the preferential rates for energy imports from Russia, and for this reason, Belarusian economists are becoming increasingly vociferous in their demands for a restructuring or the closure of the large number of loss-making stateowned businesses. In the medium term, the emigration of qualified workers due to the political conflict within the country will curb economic growth.

Dependent development and authoritarian state capitalism: Democratic backsliding and the rise of the accumulative state in Hungary

Democracy is in crisis around the globe. Hungary was long heralded as a champion of political and economic liberalization in postsocialist Eastern Europe. However, the country recently emerged as a striking example of the current wave of autocratization. Starting from the premise that political regimes are the results of class compromises, in this paper, I argue that Hungary’s authoritarian turn is in part rooted in the reconfiguration of the dominant power bloc and the concomitant change in the state’s strategy. The aim of this article is twofold. Firstly, I analyze the socio-economic roots of Hungary’s authoritarian turn and propose a new, theoretically driven causal narrative challenging and extending existing accounts. Relying on macro-statistics and a new dataset on the economic elite, I describe how the collapse of the class compromise that sustained the post-socialist liberal competition state engendered the revolt of the national bourgeoisie and the rise of the new authoritarian regime of accumulation. Secondly, I offer a new conceptualization regarding the political-economic nature of the new regime: the accumulative state. I empirically identify the political instruments through which the accumulative state props up capital accumulation and the ensuing social conflicts. Instead of portraying Hungary as a divergence from liberal capitalist norms based on a textbook view of markets, I situate authoritarian politics in the logic of capital accumulation. However, I stress that the post-2010 accumulative state serves only short-term capital accumulation and fails to enact long-term structural transformation.