Elite (Re)configuration and Politico-economic Performance in Post-socialist Countries

POLITICAL ELITES IN POST-SOCIALIST SOCIETIES are made up of individuals and groups of various social and historical origins and ideological orientations: former dissidents of diverse provenance, more or less reformist members of the ex-communist nomenklatura, members of professional groups (so-called technocrats), people from the sphere of the Church and even some members of pre-war political elites.' According to some analysts, transitional political elites display several common traits, in particular, exclusivity to the non-elite and a lack of professionalism. Consequently, societies at large regard them as unified players monopolising politics and exercising control over the whole of social life.2 However, there are many instances of opposition and conflict among various factions of elites: above all, there is competition for control of key resources by forging different social connections (search for alliances, various 'coalitions'). This means that we are in fact not dealing with unified groups. Social conditions in the countries of the former communist bloc are to a large extent characterised by the relationship between so-called old and new elites, i.e. between elites derived from the ranks of the former regime and the relatively heterogeneous elites formed during the social transition. It must, however, be stressed that it is often difficult to make a clear-cut division between old and new elites. Even