Changing configurations of national elites are shaping the prospects for democracy in the countries of postcommunist Eastern Europe. In several countries (Serbia, Bulgaria, Russia) there are unchecked power struggles between elites, with regimes oscillating between democratic and authoritarian tendencies. In other countries (Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic) restrained elite competitions are being institutionalized and are leading to stable democratic regimes. These and other outcomes are analyzed for the region as a whole.

Hersteller:
Springer Verlag GmbH
juergen.hartmann@springer.com
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DE 69121 Heidelberg

John Higley is Professor of Government and Sociology at the University of Texas. Jan Pakulski is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Tasmania. Wlodzimierz Wesolowski is Professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Polish Academy of Sciences.