Who Won the Contest for a New Property Class? Structural Transformation of Elites in the Visegrad Four Region

Journal for East European Management Studies, Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 361-377

17 Pages Posted: 25 Sep 2008 Last revised: 24 Jan 2009

See all articles by Jan Drahokoupil

Jan Drahokoupil

University of Mannheim - Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES); European Trade Union Institute (ETUI)

Date Written: June 1, 2008

Abstract

This paper analyses the transformation of elites in the Visegrad Four countries (namely the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia). Drawing on a process-tracing analysis, it argues that the emergence of foreign-led economies in the late 1990s was intertwined with political processes in which domestic forces linked to foreign capital were transformed into major elite segments with considerable influence. This elite segment, the comprador service sector, proved to be politically active within the states in Central and Eastern Europe and organized various mechanisms of representation within the state and beyond.

Keywords: Central and Eastern Europe, class, elites, foreign direct investment

Suggested Citation

Drahokoupil, Jan, Who Won the Contest for a New Property Class? Structural Transformation of Elites in the Visegrad Four Region (June 1, 2008). Journal for East European Management Studies, Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 361-377, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1273107

Jan Drahokoupil (Contact Author)

University of Mannheim - Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES) ( email )

D-68131 Mannheim
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://drahokoupil.blogspot.com

European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) ( email )

B-1210 Brussels
Belgium

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