Nationalism and Democratic Transition in Postcommunist Societies

2021 ◽  
pp. 97-122
Author(s):  
Victor Zaslavsky
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Transition ◽  
Postcommunist Societies

scholarly journals Positive and negative aspects of social capital: The case of postcommunist societies

Sociologija ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 501-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivera Pavicevic
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
Democratic Transition ◽  
Survival Strategy ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Open Issue ◽  
Postcommunist Societies

The paper analyzes social capital's properties in relation with the level at which it is generated, as a type of social capital. The second part of the paper is dedicated to examining of possibilities for implementation of the concept of social capital in various social and political circumstances. Analysis of the Putnam's concept of social capital in reviewing of the process of democratization of post-communist societies has shown that assessment of the social capital?s role in democratic transition of these societies must take into account specific social and political circumstances which influenced social capital's trends and forms. In contrast to economically developed societies with long democratic traditions, it turned out that social capital in former communist societies developed and moved in almost opposite directions. It is characterized by competitiveness, non-community spirit and exclusivity. This may be explained by predominant informal associating forms as a survival strategy in conditions of deprivation and ideological mobilization at the time of communist party states which during transition turned into suspicious conversions of various capital types. It is an open issue how much the social capital concept is applicable in post-communist societies of Eastern and Central Europe and how it should be designed for the purpose of adequate implementation in creating of social policies.

Serbia and Croatia

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filip Ejdus
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Democratic Transition ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Small States ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
Defence Strategy ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
National Defence

During the cold war, the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia was a middle-sized power pursuing a non-aligned foreign policy and a defence strategy based on massive armed forces, obligatory conscription, and a doctrine of ‘Total National Defence’. The violent disintegration of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s resulted in the creation of several small states. Ever since, their defence policies and armed forces have been undergoing a thorough transformation. This chapter provides an analysis of the defence transformation of the two biggest post-Yugoslav states—Serbia and Croatia—since the end of the cold war. During the 1990s, defence transformation in both states was shaped by the undemocratic nature of their regimes and war. Ever since they started democratic transition in 2000, and in spite of their diverging foreign policies, both states have pivoted towards building modern, professional, interoperable, and democratically controlled armed forces capable of tackling both traditional and emerging threats.

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