Post-socialist Transformations in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries

Abstract

This chapter considers post-socialist or postcommunist transformations as a subtype and historical wave of imitative societal transformations, i.e., system changes taking the form of disruptive, accelerated, and politically steered modernization projects which follow successful models of society in the framework of global hegemonies. Focusing on an international comparative overview of post-socialist change in the Second World system, i.e., the countries and union republics within the Soviet Empire, the chapter begins with a discussion of dynamics and factors of state socialism’s decline. Subsequently, it problematizes key dimensions, actors, and dilemmatic processes of the transitional phase in the narrow sense, concentrating on the political and economic spheres. Finally, the chapter deals with the long-term period of structuration and its ambivalent character, which includes a discussion of varieties and innovative aspects of postcommunism as well as post-transformative challenges.

One transition story does not fit them all: initial regional conditions and new business formation after communism

“…The disruptive exogenous shock found in the East German context rules out influences of endogenously evolving institutional settings on start-up activity (for a detailed argument, see Wyrwich, 2014). This is in sharp contrast to the slower and more endogenously evolving transition processes in other formerly communist countries of Eastern European (see, for example, Åslund & Djankov, 2014;Kollmorgen, 2019). The second contribution is that the period we analyse covers almost 30 years (from transition until 2018), allowing us to examine long-term effects on start-up activity.…”

Rule of law challenges as integration booster, learning from resilient actors and ambiguities of rule of law by design

“…Transformation meant that the enormous changes in all areas of life -politics, economy, society -had to be implemented in the form of new legal principles and rules, that a new system of judiciary and legal education had to be established. 14 While the law was being completely rebuilt, elements of the old law (and the methods of handling it) continued to apply until new law was adopted, which took its time. This caused problems, which was not the only reason why judges played a new, very important role in deciding conflict issues.…”

An Uphill Battle: Financial Education in Romania in the Midst of Societal Transformation

“…From a regional perspective, Romania's post-socialist economic reform strategy was characterized by gradualism, with a long gap from the beginning of regime change (May 1990) to the start of macro-stabilization programs (January 1993), resulting in a decrease in production (the G.D.P. growth rate averaged −2.2% between 1990 and 2000) and a slow privatization process: the private sector reached a 65% share of the economy in 2001 (Kollmorgen 2019). The financial system was radically transformed, and marketoriented financial institutions were gradually introduced.…”

“…Far from being limited to the economic sphere, this transformation has produced entirely new, countryspecific social systems with roots in the more or less distant socialist past (Illner 1996). The realities of the late socialist system, the type of social structures, and the culture of civil society were among the key factors influencing the type of transition in these countries (Kollmorgen 2019). These factors also influence how these societies have addressed the financial challenges that individuals face during post-socialist transformation.…”

“…From a policy-making perspective, all formerly socialist countries faced several dilemmas of simultaneity in their societal transformation (Kollmorgen 2019). One such dilemma describes the problematic need to reform all three levels of the institutional environment at once: formal institutions, their cultural grounding, and interest-based, everyday practice.…”