O TRANZICIJI I STAROJ STRUKTURI DRUŠTVENE MOĆI
ON TRANSITION AND THE OLD STRUCTURE OF SOCIAL POWER

Summary/Abstract: Research on transition in countries of the so-called Third World and the former Communist East, as well as of the long period of Western modernization (from 16th to 20th century) indicates the dual nature of modernization. Its universalist language (democracy, market, national independence) mostly serves as a cover for the transformation of the (old) structure of social power. This structure has been described as "neopatrimonial", "clientelist" and "mercantilist". From this point of view, transition can also be parodied (with regard to Marx's prophecy) as one leading from "a lower phase of communism" (reward according to labor or plan) to "a higher phase of communism" (reward according to needs, within oligarchies, of course). In the new parallelagram of forces the work-dependent and unemployed population is in the worst position. It experiences the fate of the weaker party in the conflict (with local governments), analogously with the weakest party in wars or ethnic conflicts which have currently been shaking up the multi-ethnic peripheral regions in transition.

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