Bela Greskovits is a professor at Central European University, Budapest. His research interest is in comparative political economy, democratization, and social movements in Eastern Europe. Address: Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
Editorial correspondence All correspondence or correspondence concerning any general questions, a... more Editorial correspondence All correspondence or correspondence concerning any general questions, article submission or book reviews should be addressed to the
This is an essay in the short history of social thought on East European transformations1. I shal... more This is an essay in the short history of social thought on East European transformations1. I shall present the structure of the discourse on the likely economic, social and political dynamics under postcommunism. I shall also point to the historical and theoretical roots of the competing concepts and assess the contribution of transitology to our understanding of social change2. While
In the first years of post-communist transition in Hungary, populism emerged as a hot topic acade... more In the first years of post-communist transition in Hungary, populism emerged as a hot topic academically and a veritable curse politically. No party has claimed to be populist, and none has avoided charges of populism levelled by one or another competitor. A demagogic populism seems to be always on the agenda, yet never actually present. In the East European context, however, populism has a peculiar meaning — similar to what it means in Latin America, but very different from what it means in the US. Far from referring to, e.g., Christopher Lasch's small proprietorship or an ethic of individual responsibility, it refers to a political strategy that seeks easy popularity by making unrealizable promises to the lower classes and frustrated domestic business interests.
PROKLA. Zeitschrift für kritische Sozialwissenschaft
The articles explores how the way in which wars are being waged has changed since the 19th centur... more The articles explores how the way in which wars are being waged has changed since the 19th century. Its main focus is on ground warfare. Warfare, according to the thesis advocated in the article, has become industrialized within a few decades. One of the consequences was that since then only rarely battles have been lead face to face. Another result was a change in the way the military had to prepare for war. After presenting a short overview the articles proceeds to deal with objectification tendencies in regard to death, which also began to develop in pre-industrial periods.
... share almost a tradition of poor economic and political forecasts on Eastern European develop... more ... share almost a tradition of poor economic and political forecasts on Eastern European development ... responsible elite, an effective state apparatus, an organized civil society, a developedmiddle class, and ... is not enough to prove that democracy cannot take root in the East in any ...
... Une explication possible pourrait justifier la récente réincarnation des perspectives d'... more ... Une explication possible pourrait justifier la récente réincarnation des perspectives d'analyse concurrentes de la ... S'appuyant sur le concept de « vision » élaboré par Joseph Schumpeter, Robert Heilbroner ... de visions, qui ne sont d'abord que des réincarnations de perspectives ...
Editorial correspondence All correspondence or correspondence concerning any general questions, a... more Editorial correspondence All correspondence or correspondence concerning any general questions, article submission or book reviews should be addressed to the
This is an essay in the short history of social thought on East European transformations1. I shal... more This is an essay in the short history of social thought on East European transformations1. I shall present the structure of the discourse on the likely economic, social and political dynamics under postcommunism. I shall also point to the historical and theoretical roots of the competing concepts and assess the contribution of transitology to our understanding of social change2. While
In the first years of post-communist transition in Hungary, populism emerged as a hot topic acade... more In the first years of post-communist transition in Hungary, populism emerged as a hot topic academically and a veritable curse politically. No party has claimed to be populist, and none has avoided charges of populism levelled by one or another competitor. A demagogic populism seems to be always on the agenda, yet never actually present. In the East European context, however, populism has a peculiar meaning — similar to what it means in Latin America, but very different from what it means in the US. Far from referring to, e.g., Christopher Lasch's small proprietorship or an ethic of individual responsibility, it refers to a political strategy that seeks easy popularity by making unrealizable promises to the lower classes and frustrated domestic business interests.
PROKLA. Zeitschrift für kritische Sozialwissenschaft
The articles explores how the way in which wars are being waged has changed since the 19th centur... more The articles explores how the way in which wars are being waged has changed since the 19th century. Its main focus is on ground warfare. Warfare, according to the thesis advocated in the article, has become industrialized within a few decades. One of the consequences was that since then only rarely battles have been lead face to face. Another result was a change in the way the military had to prepare for war. After presenting a short overview the articles proceeds to deal with objectification tendencies in regard to death, which also began to develop in pre-industrial periods.
... share almost a tradition of poor economic and political forecasts on Eastern European develop... more ... share almost a tradition of poor economic and political forecasts on Eastern European development ... responsible elite, an effective state apparatus, an organized civil society, a developedmiddle class, and ... is not enough to prove that democracy cannot take root in the East in any ...
... Une explication possible pourrait justifier la récente réincarnation des perspectives d'... more ... Une explication possible pourrait justifier la récente réincarnation des perspectives d'analyse concurrentes de la ... S'appuyant sur le concept de « vision » élaboré par Joseph Schumpeter, Robert Heilbroner ... de visions, qui ne sont d'abord que des réincarnations de perspectives ...
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