The Fight between Oligarchy and Democracy in Transitional Societies Cover Image

Az oligarchia és a demokrácia harca az átmeneti társadalmakban
The Fight between Oligarchy and Democracy in Transitional Societies

Author(s): Lajos Bokros
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences
Published by: Globális Tudás Alapítvány

Summary/Abstract: In the new republics mesmerized by the recent - and belated - attainment of sovereignty, such as Slovakia and Croatia, as well as Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria in the Balkans and finally, in Eastern Europe first and foremost Ukraine and Russia, the national oligarchies emerged at breathtaking speed. Those who started in this race from insider positions, such as managers of state companies who became private owners overnight, found their way to the managers of financial institutions still controlled by the state, and to the leaders of local and national governments. The author - formerly Hungarian Finance Minister, now professor and senior vice-chairman of CEU - thinks that the successive democratic governments have struggled, with more or less success, with this terrible dual legacy, the combined legacy of the communist system and the oligarchic attempt at state capture that has proved to be a dead end. The most important accomplishment is that although belatedly, liberalization, now carried out comprehensively, has broken the oligarchic structure.

  • Issue Year: 2005
  • Issue No: 02
  • Page Range: 5-24
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Hungarian