Social Partners and Captors. The Role of Non-State Actors in Economic Policy-Making in Eastern Europe
Social Partners and Captors. The Role of Non-State Actors in Economic Policy-Making in Eastern Europe

Summary/Abstract: Post-communist states in Central and Eastern Europe inherited a high rate of trade union membership. After 1989 many of these non-state actors lost their influence over state actors or institutions. In this general context, the paper looks at the capacity of current non-state actors in this area (Poland, Czech, Ukraine and Russia) to influence official decisions. These are not lobby activities because they are unstructured and cannot be defined as such, but the strategies used are very similar. There are two identifyable instruments - cooperation and pressure - which lead to different types of relations: tripartite (formal agreement, legal capture strategy) and social networks (informal agreements, illegal capture). The paper then analyzes the strategies of non-state actors in Central and Eastern Europe to influence the state.

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