This paper reviews theoretical suggestions concerning the conceptualisation of economic culture that were made in a series of publications on the cultural dimension of post-communist transformation by the Institute for Research on Eastern Europe in Bremen. Analyses are made particularly of the points where culture on the one hand and institutions, social capital and civil society on the other overlap and differ and from these comparisons consequences are drawn for use of the concept of economic culture in transformation research. The article concludes that economic culture is a conceptual category in its own right, neither irreducible to the level of institutions, in the sense that institutional economics understands them, nor to social capital or civil society. If, moreover, economic culture is to be used as a tool for explaining socio-economic processes, its strict separation from institutions, social capital and civil society is essential.
The paper presents the directions of transformations in the sphere of politics and economy taking place in Saudi Arabia in 1995-2004. The authoress tries to analyze the effects of the reforms being implemented, the degree to which they are comprehensive, as well as the level of threat to the reforms in the case of possible victory of antireformist forces in the Saudi Kingdom.
On 1 May 2004, new East and Central European states that had made a major breakthrough in their social and economic system found themselves within the European Union area. A fundamental decision of capital importance for their future had been the transformation of centrally planned economies into market economies. This required an extreme determination, consistence and sacrifices, and entailed different social and economic costs. The economies in transformation carried out many indispensable reforms and among them changes in the functioning of the banking sector, development of an independent central bank and choice of a defined monetary policy strategy. The fundamental problem in the monetary policy of the East and Central European countries was the necessity to get under control the high inflation and build up the credibility of their national currencies in the face of both the changing external conditions and the differentiation of the political, economic and social situation in the group of the countries in question. Stabilization of prices on a low level became the main criterion in the adaptation processes of those countries on their road to integration with the European Community structures. This criterion also became the most important determinant of the monetary policy and its strategies adopted by the individual countries running for the EU membership. The paper focused on presentation of the methods adopted by the group of East European Baltic countries in the conduct of their economic policy. Thus, the monetary policy of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia was presented. These three countries distinguish themselves among the new EU members by their geopolitical situation because all of them have emerged from the disintegration of the Soviet Union and constitute a relatively homogeneous group of economies in transformation. Certain elements of homogeneity can also be observed in the monetary policy adopted by them. In the first part of the paper, the essence of the exchange rate strategy applied in practice by the new Baltic EU member countries was characterized. Then, in consideration of the fact that the most important conditions substantial from the point of view of the monetary policy, and related to the accession of the countries in question to the Eurosystem, were the independence of the central bank and the definition of the main goal of their monetary policy so as to make it compatible with the goal of the European Central Bank, the process of shaping the monetary policy in the individual countries was presented in more detail, in concentrating on the problem of institutional independence of the central bank and on the main goals and instruments of the monetary policy. Also, the course of the inflationary processes over the period of 1997-2005 was monitored.
The article reflects on the importance of social capital for the transformation and modernisation processes at work in Poland after 1989 and on the formulation of development trends in this area. The question of the development trends of social capital is also a question of the transformation of society as a whole and the ways in which it will change in the foreseeable future. The response to various challenges in Polish society often reinforces survival and adaptation behaviours and attitudes, pushing individuals to focus on creating an inbred relationship and maintaining high cohesion within their own group. The need of the moment is to create conditions for the development of social capital, which, however, in the light of the results of Social Diagnosis, remains more a postulate than a reality.
In order to understand today’s social and political situation in East-Central Europe, one should examine in particular the consequences of post-socialist transformation. The negative and often very painful effects of the social changes that affected Central and Eastern Europe over the last three decades have not been overcome until today. This makes it all the more important to be better “prepared” philosophically for future social changes. François Jullien comes up with a theoretical solution. In the first part of my paper, taking Jullien’s book The Silent Transformations as a point of departure, I show that many of the problems that still exist in East-Central Europe largely result from placing too much emphasis on the event of the revolution and too little on the transformation experienced by the region’s populations. Such “intellectual blindness” may be seen as a consequence of the dominance of the transitological approach in political and social sciences of the time, which is analyzed towards the end of the first part through (an outline of) Boris Buden’s critique. In the second and third parts, I suggest, pace Jullien, a way towards a moderate, “sober”, but nevertheless creative and productive understanding of the active agent by appealing to the work of Hans-Herbert Kögler and Fabian Heubel.
The structural analysis was used to draw attention to the fact that some properties of narrative structures are noticeably often repeated and their repeated presence is strikingly regular. „Narrative grammar“ – concepts thus develop a high degree of abstraction, generalization whilst they only contain a limited number of the organizational principles of the narrative unit structure along with the rules of combination. So – as a matter of fact – what is being discussed here is establishing a highly abstract story structure which is supposed to produce an infinite number of specific and individual manifestations. The main part of this study is therefore a specific narration structure analysis based on a particular detective story. The author analysed the novella The Advetnure of the Resident Patient by Arthur Conan Doyle using R. Barthes´s theory complemented by T. Todorov´s concept. The structure analysis thus enabled him to outline the „narrative grammar“, which is „identical“, i.e. it is repeated in most of the Sherlock Holmes stories. The simple text of a detective story exposed to the structural analysis showed and demonstrated how simple text units work and combine, which makes the story coherent and despite the fact that the story is composed of various elements, it does not fall apart and keeps together. At the same time, the „narrative grammar“ drew attention to the way a literary character functions in and becomes a part of the text, as well as it clarified what role the „effects“ of time and space in various forms play in the making a story. The traditional distinction between classic detective fiction (E. A. Poe, A. C. Doyle, A. Christie, D. Sayers) and „hardboiled“ crime fiction typical of American writers (D. Hammett, R. Chandler and R. MacDonald) is examined in the author ś study in terms of various questions and answers. While classic detective fiction raises questions such as „who“ the crime was committed by and „how“, „hardboiled“ crime fiction asks „why“ the crime was committed. Moreover, the author tried to expand on the motifs outlined in the chapter of Czech philosopher in Miroslav Petříček´s book, i.e. the motifs of face, town, room and story, which are approached in a fundamentally different way in the two types of crime fiction in question.
The article presents results of the study devoted to evolution of science and technology system in Czech Republic (CR) during the transformation period (from the victory of the velvet revolution in 1989 till 2004, when CR joined the EU). Peculiarities of transformations in CR at various transformation stages are shown on the basis of official statistics, expert opinion and survey data, and by methodology elaborated in the international project 'Restructuring and Reintegration of Science & Technology Systems in Economies in Transition'. Science & technology and innovation position of CR against other post-socialist countries of Central Europe and South European countries is shown by use of indicators included in the European Innovation Scoreboard. The conclusion is that CR which immediately took a 'rigid' course toward the reconstruction of national science & technology system (NSTS) by the criteria of Western European model, had a good chance to achieve the goal on the eve of joining the EU, as CR could quite successfully transform some of the key parameters of NSTS, especially those related with the research segment (although technological losses were also notable). The weakest side of science & technology transformation in CR in 90s proved to be setting up the horizontal links within the national innovation system. However, official statistics of CR (2000-2004) shows a positive dynamics of R&D parameters in the private sector, which is an indicator of rehabilitating trends in the innovation segment of this country on the eve of its joining the EU.
The paper points out to the paradoxical character of our contemporary life: while the comfort of our life is still growing, the conditions of life in general are getting still worse. In the author's view the ecological crisis we are facing now has two possible outcomes: the humankind will have to undergo a fundamental transformation, or there will be no change at all: the humankind will perish from this Planet. The first of two means a transformation of persisting anti-nature, so called 'pre-ecological' culture, which should become a pro-nature and pro-life (biophil) one, i.e. a culture of life. Therefore we have to re-estimate and transform our values, as well as our social behavior, so that they correspond the nature of humans as one of the biological species.
The aim of the paper is to keep track of the selected elements of the Polish social reality in the last twenty years that may account for the way in which Poland has dealt with its major civilisation challenge. To achieve this, the authors start with an analysis of the Poles’ attitudes towards transformation. Next, they go on to outlining the major categories of the Polish society as a result of the whole process (economic situation, lifestyle and education were some of the variables included at this point). The authors pay some attention to two extremes that have been visible in Polish cities: gated communities and ghettos of poverty. Yet, it is not only within the cities that the differences emerge; for the past twenty years Poland has had to face its old and new regional divisions, now visible also through the prism of the EU dimension of the centre–periphery dichotomy. To sum up, the authors sketch a general picture of the winners and losers of the Polish transformation.
Four factors seem to be decisive in determining the character and dynamics of transformation: the legacy of the past - the initial condition; the institutional choices; the degree of external assistance; policies of the new governments. In order to understand the East-European transformations and discover any patterns in these processes one must turn more attention to the legacy of the past and the initial condition i.e. follow a path dependency approach. No breakup with the past, even such radical as in East-Central Europe, can ever be complete. The past carries not only the elements dysfunctional for the new democratic and market order but also some which provide support for the changes. Among them one can list the negative experience with political crises, the attempts to reform the economy and liberalize the political system (even if not successful), the pragmatism of the communist elites, the emergence of the political and cultural opposition, the opening to the West. The 'path dependency' perspective, combines serious analysis of the historical experiences with the appreciation of singular events (such as for e.g. the first free elections) and their temporal sequence. It explains why some countries are successful in their transformation while others can't leave the circle of doom.
In the article, the author analyses sources of budget deficit's financing in the transformation period in Poland. Firstly, different instruments that can balance expenses of state's budget over its income are presented. Then an analysis of the structure of deficit's financing and its consequences for the economy is made. The author pays attention to efficiency of the fiscal expansion in the short and long term and describes the direct and indirect push out effect. In result performed analysis it is claimed that the choice of sources of deficit's financing has the fundamental significance for the economic policy.
The government has fixed the basic direction of the military reform. On the basis of this, the political and management of the Armed Forces planned to achieve the development objectives through three phases. The author analyzes and evaluates the military reforms which started in the past but have been suspended, demonstrates the theoretical basis of internal relations and expected results of the ongoing 10 year economic plan.
Rural women in Poland are characterised by specific features which, in a large measure, are the result of multifunctional roles that they play in their families, households and farms. These specific features are also attributable to the special character of village communities, whose significance diminished due to industrialisation and urbanisation processes but which has been recently assuming a new dimension in the changed social and economic conditions in Poland. The multifunctionality of roles fulfilled by rural women has its source in many-sided ties linking them in a different degree to work on a farm. Rural woman perform duties of vocational character, render services to their families, are socially active outside their households and ever more frequently engage in ventures that allow them to earn additional money (for example, they offer accommodation to and cook for holidaymakers, render services to other farms and independently carry out various economic activities). Housework done by rural women covers a wide range of duties - from cooking, storage and processing of food, washing, cleaning, choosing and arranging furniture and equipment at their homes and keeping them tidy - to raising children, making decisions concerning the functioning and organisation of households. The period of economic transformation in Poland has led to modifications both in the roles fulfilled by rural women and in their mutual relations, which sometimes showed disharmony caused by restrictions preventing them from fulfilling individual functions and tasks in a satisfying way.
The transformation of the economies of the Central and Eastern European states was on the regional level very significantly connected with the differential tendencies. In all new EU member states there has been from the beginning of the 90s to date a continuous deepening of the regional disparities on the economic level. The regional disparities result from a number of the economic, social and geographical factors. This article is a contribution to the studies of regional differentiation in the new EU member states. The goal of this study is to clear up the actual trends and major factors of regional growth and differentiation of the new EU member states.
The major forms of Chinese utopia include “the Land of Bliss”, the Taoist “small country with few inhabitants”, the Confucian “Great Unity”, Tao Yuanming’s “Peach Blossom Spring”, Kang Youwei’s “World of Great Unity” and its modern variations. Chinese utopia has evolved from reactive poetic retreat to active political remoulding. It has developed from pastness to nowness in terms of temporal orientation, and from “nowhere” to “somewhere” and then to hereness in terms of spatial orientation. Chinese utopia has strong poetic anchorage, which is determined by the Heaven-Earth-man unity. Through the mechanism of experience shift, Chinese utopia in the modern context is often transformed into a usable cultural or spiritual icon, or national political vision, policies, blueprints and concrete social practice. A comprehensive insight into the Chinese utopian tradition helps to understand the utopian-poetic-political entanglement in China.
It's shown that the transformation process is put by national experts in a quite similar chronological frame, mostly as 1989/90-1992; 1992-1994/95; 1995-1998/99; 1999, in view of the contents and coverage of the national science & technology policy. However, approaches to the transformation system varied depending on (i) specifics of national S&T systems during the socialist period, (ii) the approach to the transformation process, focusing either on following the Western model or on a series of measures meant to 'preserve' the institutional build-up of the S&T inherited from the past. But in spite of these distinctions, the transformation process in post-socialist countries of CEE ended up by adopting the conceptual documents harmonized with ones existing at the EU level. However, as the analysis shows, in early 2000s the national S&T system in its narrow sense, that is, R&D / innovation performers, nevertheless remained at the first phase of the transformation process, in the condition of isolation/fragmentation, in a major part of the CEE countries. Therefore, national science & technology systems could be conceptualized by early 2000s, but, for the most part of post-socialist countries, failed to be realized. The problems of fragmentation can be better understood through (i) evaluation of the institutional change within the national science & technology system, which reveals the most difficult segment in the transformation process, 'branch' science; (ii) analysis of supply and demand concepts in the context of national S&T systems.
The article provides sociological analysis of time and space (space-time) and their relations to developmental changes in a rather unusual autobiographical context. In social science, the phenomenon of social space and time is highlighted mainly in the context of themes such as environment, technological development, or changes in social space. The article is based on the historical perspective which enables us to understand better the current modes of using and changing social spaces - human settlements and regions in particular. The author reflects on changes in social space, focusing on the issues of social interactions, urban space, second literacy, cyberspace, and communicative simultaneity. These are discussed in relation to both the global economic crisis and specific Slovak conditions.
The article concentrates on how the motif of the antique fable “Heracles and the Ox-Driver” transformed in a series of artefacts by Giovanni Castrucci, Lodovico Pozzoserrato and Pirro Ligorio from the 16th and 17th centuries. It demonstrates how at times the courses and interpretations of iconographic themes can be complex and difficult to trace, and how easily one can be swayed to conclude that a case is so simple and straightforward that there is in fact nothing to resolve.
The article is meant to answer questions at what stage the Polish system transformation is what is its distance to the developed world the Poles like to compare with. Poland does not cease to be a post-socialist transformation country. Yet, it is becoming an integral part of the global system and current changes taking place in Poland are in an significant degree brought about by the external factors: globalization and the European integration. The author's point is that the complexity of the present stage of the Polish modernization lies down in the development disproportions connected with the coexistence of the varied historical epochs. These three epochs dictate three varied speeds. From the 'long duree' Poland inherited a strong preindustrial sector corresponding culture and mentality. This is the first speed. The industrial sector was overwhelmed by existence of big centralized and hierarchical structures of the socialist era which need a deep restructuring. This is the second speed. The last 15 years saw an accelerated adaptation to the third speed - the post-industrial and information society. Needless to say this speed is the most functional to globalization and the European integration. These three speeds illustrate the enormous challenge Poland is facing in coming decades.
The article deals with the results of a comparative investigation of the corporate codes of ethics in the Western German and Slovak firms. The objective of this study is to highlight the differences between corporate codes of ethics of Western Germany and Slovakia and to analyse, whether they can be traced back to the specific situation of transformation in Slovakia compared to the stable context of the firms in Western Germany. We concentrated our analysis on two areas, the internal and external stakeholders addressed by the codes and the issues highlighted by the codes. With stakeholders we found that Slovak firms address more stakeholders groups in their codes. With the issues highlighted we found that Slovak firms raise more issues in their codes of ethics. We were able to interpret the differences as specific to the transformational situation of the Slovak companies.
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