Elites of Post-Transformation. The Cases of Central and Eastern European Countries (EBOOK)

The systemic transformation in Central and Eastern Europe brought about the emergence of consensual elites that ultimately favoured a consolidated democracy. Today, however, some countries are experiencing democratic backsliding, with the elites fragmented or even divided. The book presents several case studies of how elites across the region have been changing. They can be instrumental in both democratization and democratic backsliding. Illiberal elites claim to represent the will of the people, which in their view is true democracy. To understand the current state of democracy, it is necessary to examine the role of the elites in this process. It is also pertinent to address the question about the origins and characteristics of the contemporary elites that threaten liberal democracy and undermine the existing consensus.

The publication is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Poland license (CC BY 3.0 PL) (full license available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode).

Keywords: elites, intelligentsia, political transformation, Central and Eastern European countries, social structure.

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PIOTR KULAS is University Professor at the Faculty of “Artes Liberales” at the University of Warsaw, Poland. He is the author and editor of numerous books and articles on elites and the Polish intelligentsia. He is the Head of Elitylab UW—Laboratory for Analysis of Transformation of Elites and the Intelligentsia.

KAMIL M. WIELECKI, PhD, is a social anthropologist at the University of Warsaw, Poland. He has conducted long-term ethnographic fieldwork research in Poland, Moldova, Russia (Central Siberia and Dagestan), and Kyrgyzstan. His areas of interest include post-socialist studies, political economy of capitalism, economic anthropology, and sociology of education.

Kamil Lipiński, https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3158-5875
“Fixers”: Conversions and Arrangements of Capital in the Narratives of the Polish Business Elite
https://doi.org/10.31338/uw.9788323563884.pp.283-320

Pavol Frič, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5793-0880
Elite Replacement and Civil Society
https://doi.org/10.31338/uw.9788323563884.pp.63-96

Alexandra Dunwill, https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9879-4159
Elites and Their Schools in Post-Communist Poland
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Piotr Kulas, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5917-0176
Kamil Maria Wielecki, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0211-9884
Elites of Post-Transformation: From Post-Communist Elites to Populist Elites
https://doi.org/10.31338/uw.9788323563884.pp.7-34

Oleksandra Iwaniuk, https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3341-7755
New Elites, Old Practices? Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Rule in Pre-Full Scale-War Ukraine in Relation to Pierre Bourdieu’s Theory of Practices
https://doi.org/10.31338/uw.9788323563884.pp.159-182

Jerzy Bartkowski, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5055-7363
Polish Political Elites—An Unfinished Project
https://doi.org/10.31338/uw.9788323563884.pp.119-158

Elena Semenova, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7044-2259
The Determinants of Parliamentary Turnover in Central and Eastern European Countries, 1990–2022
https://doi.org/10.31338/uw.9788323563884.pp.35-62

Katarzyna Chawryło, https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3681-9156
The Field of Power in Contemporary Russia—A Preliminary Description
https://doi.org/10.31338/uw.9788323563884.pp.183-214

Piotr Kulas, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5917-0176
The Post-Intelligentsia’s Long Entry into the 21st Century: Continuity and Change
https://doi.org/10.31338/uw.9788323563884.pp.215-254

Jan Śpiewak, https://orcid.org/
The Rule of Law in Authoritarian State and the Program of Universal Privatization: How the Gdańsk Liberals Saw the Agreement with the Communists on the Eve of Polish Transformation
https://doi.org/10.31338/uw.9788323563884.pp.255-282

Jan Pakulski, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0597-5547
The Rule of Populist Nationalists in Central and Eastern Europe and Its Consequences
https://doi.org/10.31338/uw.9788323563884.pp.97-118

Jan Kieniewicz, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3580-9112
Vanishing Elites and Poland’s Unfinished Transformation
https://doi.org/10.31338/uw.9788323563884.pp.365-382