Eastern European Capitalism in the Making

by Elena A. Iankova

Overview

This book examines the relationships between governments, labor and business in central and eastern Europe as capitalism develops. The triple forum for social dialogue, termed "tripartism," is a new post-communist species of state-society interaction and a brand of capitalism distinct from American neo-liberalism, western European neo-corporatism and Japanese statism. Through political negotiations, civic participation, and multi-level bargaining, tripartism institutionalizes—and thereby contains and channels—conflict among post-communist social actors in the industrial arena. Variations in the establishment and functioning of tripartite institutions across central and eastern European countries, industries and regions reflect differing corporatist legacies and differing paths taken to effect extrication from state socialism. Integration into the international ecomomy and polity, especially European integration, has somewhat diminished differences and, in the long run, is helping preserve and maintain social dialogue structures in the central and eastern European region.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521813143
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/09/2002
Pages:	238
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.71(d)

Table of Contents

1. Hybrid capitalism in the making; 2. The corporatist legacy of state socialism; 3. Bulgaria's national tripartism; 4. National social dialogue in Poland; 5. The politics of sectoral tripartism; 6. The politics of regional tripartism; 7. Conclusions: transiency and continuity.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"[Iankova] makes a number of important contributions to our understanding of industrial relations in post-Communist societies." American Journal of Sociology

"Innovative..." Foreign Affairs

Editorial Reviews

"[Iankova] makes a number of important contributions to our understanding of industrial relations in post-Communist societies." American Journal of Sociology

"Innovative..." Foreign Affairs

From the Publisher

Eastern Europe has made its way toward capitalism without social explosions, according to the author, in large part because of three-way partnerships among government, employers, and labor that formally negotiated critical employment and social issues. Unlike the corporatism of postwar Europe, which was built on settled institutions that allowed the state eventually to recede into the background, the eastern European version has been constructed on the fly, functioning to sort out and legitimate the voices of labor and the employers. Iankova compares in detail the Polish and Bulgarian experiences, both of which benefited from different versions of this tripartite cooperation. Her analysis is particularly innovative in tracing the way "tripartism" has repeated itself at the regional level and then looped back to the national level. Integration into the European Union, she expects, will challenge central and eastern Europe's brand of corporatism but it will not destroy it — assuming the EU reforms its own version.

Foreign Affairs