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Czech Exceptionalism? A Comparative Political Economy Interpretation of Post-Communist Policy Pathways, 1989–2004
[journal article]
Abstract This article makes a plea for a more explicitly intentional and politicalstrategic analysis of post-communist public policy pathways. The author analyses a set of social and labour-market policies implemented in the Czech Republic (pro-active job loss prevention) compared to Hungary and Poland (larg... view more
This article makes a plea for a more explicitly intentional and politicalstrategic analysis of post-communist public policy pathways. The author analyses a set of social and labour-market policies implemented in the Czech Republic (pro-active job loss prevention) compared to Hungary and Poland (large-scale non-elderly retirement), and indicates why, far from being fully constrained by structural or external variables or by international pressures, political elites were able to design policy packages that served to reduce anti-reform protests. Once enacted at a formative historical turning point, these early policies fundamentally reshaped the subsequent operational space of post-communist politics throughout the 1990s. They crystallised the distinct pathways of post-communist welfare regimes, and they enabled early, and irreversible, democratic and market reform progress. While seemingly inefficient, and definitely costly in public-finance terms, these policy packages contained a degree of political rationality, as they contributed to the making of the great Czech, Hungarian, and Polish transition success stories, in an otherwise highly heterogeneous population of postcommunist transition cases.... view less
Classification
Social Policy
Political Science
Free Keywords
public policies; political strategy; constrained democratic efficiency; East European welfare regimes; post-communist transformations; path contingency
Document language
English
Publication Year
2006
Page/Pages
p. 1115-1136
Journal
Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review, 42 (2006) 6
Status
Published Version; reviewed
Licence
Deposit Licence - No Redistribution, No Modifications