On the Limits of Path Dependency Approaches for Explaining Postsocialist Institution Building: In Critical Response to David Stark

Beyer, Jürgen; Wielgohs, Jan

doi:10.1177/0888325401015002007

Cited by 25 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Studies focusing on transformations in post-socialist countries have usually dealt with major economic and political shifts, particularly regarding democratization, civil participation, and the transition from formerly planned economies into market economies [ 1 ], [ 2 ], [ 3 ], [ 4 ]. Though these studies offer explanations for the political and economic transformation of Poland, the literature has been relatively silent regarding other societal sectors, such as science and innovation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Gradual Transformation of the Polish Public Science System

Heinecke

2016

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper investigates institutional change in the Polish public science system (PPSS) in the past twenty years. Employing macro-statistical data, the paper argues that this change process has unfolded stepwise and relatively late despite major political and economic transformations in post-socialist Poland. Using a historical-institutionalist perspective, the paper focuses on processes of institutional change, including layering, displacement, and dismantling. One major finding is that the speed and depth of the gradual transformation differs considerably between the three research performing sectors of the Polish public science system. As the Polish Academy of Sciences was reproduced institutionally, the former governmental units for applied R&D were partly dismantled and displaced by private sector R&D units. In contrast, the Higher Education sector underwent a strong expansion and, thus, layering of new research activities and fields. Since policy shifts within the PPSS occurred relatively late, the more than two decades following the collapse of communism are of special interest to scholars of incremental, yet cumulative, institutional change.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Gradual Transformation of the Polish Public Science System

Heinecke

2016

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Subsequent work in both the institutionalist and evolutionary veins has tended to crystallise around the less sophisticated argument that habits and institutions inherited from the socialist past obstruct the accomplishment of a full transition to capitalism (Beyer and Wielgohs, 2001; Spies et al, in review). This simplified understanding of path dependence permeated widely across social science: socialist legacies became a common explanation for the difficulties encountered in the establishment of, for instance, collective marketing initiatives (Tisenkopfs et al, 2011) or community-based resource management (Sehring, 2009).…”

Section: Current Representations Of Postsocialismmentioning

confidence: 99%

The end of postsocialism (as we knew it): Diverse economies and the East

Cima

Sovová

2022

Progress in Human Geography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper brings together two streams of literature which rarely enter into conversation: diverse economies scholarship and critical readings of postsocialism. Mobilising the cases of food self-provisioning (FSP) in Czechia and agricultural cooperatives in Kyrgyzstan as an empirical basis for our reflections, we pursue a two-fold aim. Firstly, we call for attention to the postsocialist East as fertile ground for the study of diverse economies. Secondly, we offer a postcapitalist reading of postsocialism as embedded and emancipated theorising, arguing that diverse economies thinking can support novel representations of this geopolitical area and open space to appreciate economic diversity on the ground.

show abstract

“…This conception allows the author to further differentiate between the types of transformations including an initial, fast 'intentional transformations controlled by the government', and a longer-lasting 'spontaneous transformation' or 'evolutionary adaptation of existing social as well as regional and urban systems to the new societal rules' (Sýkora, 2009b: 285). The importance ascribed to the first induced transformations is highlighted by Sýkora as an adaptation of 'path dependency and path-shaping' approach of postsocialism (see Beyer and Wielgohs, 2001). The expression that presents the revolution of 1989 as a way to 'put society on the track that promised a future with higher freedom and more wealth' (Sýkora, 2009b: 286) is now more easily understood -the revolution represents the first moment of controllable change.…”

Section: Taylor and Francis Not For Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Spectral Kinshasa: Building the City through an Architecture of Words”

Boeck¹

2015

The City Reader

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Since the late eighteenth century academic engagement with political, economic, social, cultural, and spatial changes in our cities has been dominated by theoretical frameworks crafted with reference to just a small number of cities in the 'Global North'. This book offers an important antidote to the focus of urban studies on cities in 'the West'. Urban Theory Beyond the West contains 20 contributions from leading scholars, raising important conceptual issues about cities throughout the world and at different levels of urban hierarchy. Past and current theoretical developments are reviewed and organized into four parts, focusing on de-centring the city, order/ disorder, mobilities, and imaginaries. There are three kinds of chapters published in this volume: theories generated about urbanity 'beyond the West'; critiques, reworking, or refining of 'Western' urban theory based upon conceptual reflection on cities beyond 'the West'; and hybrid approaches that develop both of these perspectives. Urban Theory Beyond the West offers critical and accessible reviews of past and current theoretical developments, providing an original and groundbreaking contribution to urban theory. It is essential reading for students and practitioners interested in urban studies, development studies and geography.

show abstract

On the Limits of Path Dependency Approaches for Explaining Postsocialist Institution Building: In Critical Response to David Stark

Cited by 25 publications

References 0 publications

The Gradual Transformation of the Polish Public Science System

The Gradual Transformation of the Polish Public Science System

The end of postsocialism (as we knew it): Diverse economies and the East

“Spectral Kinshasa: Building the City through an Architecture of Words”

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About