Zwischen Polarisierung und Professionalisierung: Entwicklungslinien der politischen Elite Ungarns
Between Polarization and Professionalization - Hungary's Political Elite

Summary/Abstract: Abstract: Hungary's political elite underwent major changes even before the transition. The ongoing modernisation led to a steady increase in the professional qualifications of the political class. Only actors with convertible knowledge could gain access to the higher echelons of the regime. Due to their skills these actors were also competitive in a market economy setting. Hungary‘s mix of elite reproduction and circulation fits perfectly into the Central European pattern of elite changes, in which the greatest degree of change occurred in the political elite, whereas stability prevailed in the other segments of the 'ruling class'. In accordance with theoretical expectations, in the past two decades, the visionary transitional elites were replaced by professional politicians. But the concomitant expectation that politics will also shift from sharp ideological confrontation to more pragmatic and unideological forms was not fulfilled. Instead, because of the elite's polarisation, symbolic politics remains still dominant.

• Details
• Contents