The rise of a media empire in the former communist space. A case study of central European: media enterprises

During the transition from authoritarian regimes to democracy, media have changed along with the other components of social and economic life. They have evolved from propaganda vehicles to real business entities that are functioning in free markets. However, relations between the media, state, society, and market have led to the development of unique dynamics of media systems in the ex-communist countries. Among all media groups that have formed in the ex-communist space, there is one company that stands out. Central European Media Enterprises (CME) - a Bahamas-based American-owned company was the first to bring Western marketing and management styles, along with American programming. CME knew how to commercially exploit the market's underdeveloped potential and consumers' thirst for information and entertainment. This paper looks at CME mainly from a business perspective. It attempts to document and explain the company's strategies and decisions, and the way in which they were influenced by politics. The theoretical framework of the paper builds on the Splichal's concept of "political capitalism" and on Doyle's and Mosco's theories of media economics. The conclusion is that CME's financial success has been highly influenced - though not totally determined - by factors that have nothing to do with a normal, healthy business environment.

Creating crony capitalism: neoliberal globalization and the fueling of corruption

This article examines how neoliberal policies mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) impact on corruption in developing countries. Combining domestic political analysis with world systems and dependency theories, we hypothesize that these reforms concentrate losses on influential social groups such as businesses and civil servants, who then engage in corrupt practices to maintain their privileged positions. Using an original dataset of IMF policy reforms from 1980 to 2014, we find robust empirical support for our argument. Results of regression-based analysis demonstrate an effect of IMF policy reforms that hold across multiple samples and measure of corruption: 141 countries using a corruption control measure from the International Country Risk Guide; 70 countries on the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey; and 19 countries from the International Crime Victims Survey. Our findings elucidate the link between neoliberal globalization and political capitalism, while offering important policy lessons regarding the design of IMF policy reforms.

The Chinese alternative

The contemporary economic system developed by China in the last two decades, supremely successful in achieving economic growth, defies traditional classification. It has been variously defined as socialist (by Chinese leaders), capitalist (Kornai), state socialist (Coase and Wang), political capitalism (Milanovic), a unique system with features of both socialism and capitalism not conforming to either system (Kolodko). This essay seeks to support, substantiate and develop Kolodko’s notion of the uniquess of China, while expressing greater pessimism than Kolodko about the economic, social and political sustainability of that system, its merits as a beneficial engine of globalisation and growth, and its exportability to other countries in the developed West.

Accountable Capitalism, Responsible Capitalism, and Political Capitalism

This paper compares three recent prescriptive proposals for practicing capitalism: Accountable Capitalism (Senator Elizabeth Warren), Responsible Capitalism (Professor R. Edward Freeman), and Political Corporate Social Responsibility (Professors Andreas Scherer and Guido Palazzo and colleagues). Warren’s Accountable Capitalism is a corporate governance reform proposal. Freeman’s Responsible Capitalism prescribes effective stakeholder management through entrepreneurial value creation. Political CSR (expanded here to Political Capitalism) is a prescription for democratization inside and outside of businesses and provision of public goods in instances of governmental incompetence. The rationale for this examination is the possibility of political crisis in the relationship between democracy and capitalism.

Rzecz o nepotyzmie i kumoterstwie

The paper comprises an introduction, four parts, and conclusions. The introduction char- acterizes the fundamental notions discussed in the paper, namely kin selection, nepotism, cronyism and political capitalism. The first part of the paper concerns kin selection and reciprocal altruism, which are deemed to be the fundamental mechanisms of socialization. This part indicates that nepotism has a biological justification (and in R. Dawkins’ interpretation – a genetic justification). The mechanisms of kin selection and reciprocal altruism raise the question of whether nepotism is not a natural phenomenon in humans. If so, this means that the negative assessment of these phenomena of public life goes against natural human inclinations. The second part of the paper refers to the origins of the notion of nepotism and to a particu- lar understanding of the public realm in modern democracies. The development of democracy has been related to the transformation of the mechanisms of governance which consisted in concessions made by the authorities to those demanding changes. Political struggle has been minimized as it was directed at competition among citizens. The struggle for the change of power has been replaced by the struggle for access to positions and goods in the public realm. Axiological justification has been provided by social justice as a claim for equal access to goods by virtue of principles of transparency. The third part of the paper discusses the issue of nepotism and cronyism in public opinion. It refers to the results of public opinion surveys concerning, among other things, favoritism, ways of looking for jobs, unequal opportunities on account of social status, and the social sta- tus of the family. Additionally, selected examples of nepotism and favoritism in political life are presented. The fourth part deals with the issue of political capitalism both in the interpretation of M. Weber and as a phenomenon of the transition of the Polish socio-political system. Political capitalism can be defined in a nutshell as using state structures or political positions for an un- fair distribution of goods and is expressed by muddy links between the representatives of state with the private business sphere.