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Global Trends and Eastern European Societal Transformations
Author(s) -
Genov Nikolai
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
international social science journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.237
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1468-2451
pISSN - 0020-8701
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2451.00283
Subject(s) - individualism , collectivism , normative , anomie , rationality , value (mathematics) , politics , political economy , economic system , political science , sustainability , development economics , economics , sociology , law , machine learning , computer science , ecology , biology
We give a review of Eastern European transformations, which differs from the expectations typical at the beginning of the 1990s. These transformations are tensionridden adjustments to global trends. They include transfer and localadaptation of normative and institutional patterns from the Western world. Four global trends and their controversial effects in the region are discussed. First, instrumental activism requires efficiency of decisions and actions,but clashes with ideas and practices of sustainability. Second, modern individualism, which took the lead after the collapse of official collectivism in the region, can be destructive, as it can involve high social costs and operate at the expense of the common good. Third, the worldwide trend towards organisational rationality, which tends to separate economy, politics and culture has also brought about, in the region, unpredicted organisational pathologies and anomie. Fourth, while the conditions of the transformation encourage the universalisation of value systems, at the same time, its tensions and conflicts sustain particularistic values.