Social shock in transforming Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

Central and Eastern European societies, in spite of significant successes of transformation, are in a social shock. Economic hardship, unemployment, lower income and even poverty for many, and social polarization played a role in disappointment. The main reason of social shock, however, was cultural, the sharp collision of state socialist, and traditional values on the one hand and new values and social behavioral requirements on the other. The doors opened widely, but most of the people were frightened to enter into an unknown world. Social-behavioral changes are generations-long processes.

The Role of European Union Integration in Post-Communist Democratization in Bulgaria and Macedonia

“…Even within the group of optimists (Huntington 1991;Brzezinski 2002) who link the democratization with some historic legacies, Bulgaria, together with the entire Balkan region, remains in the gray zone. Its predominant religious cult and its social values, both economic and political (Berend 2007) are considered as contradicting the logic of democratization. In general, this group of authors does not have high expectations regarding a possible post-communist democratization in Bulgaria.…”

Contingent Valuation of Built Heritage Properties in a Transition Country: A Case of Lithuania / Nekilnojamojo Kultūros Paveldo Vertinimas Taikant Numatomojo Vertinimo Metodą Pereinamojo Laikotarpio Valstybėje: Lietuvos Atvejis

“…The post-communist societies and economies are being increasingly analyzed not only by the researchers from the outside (stone, 2005;sapsford and abbott, 2006;Berend, 2007), but also by the "insiders" (Čepaitienė, 2002Marčinskas and Galinienė, 2005;Čiegis et al, 2008;Samalavičius, 2008;Brauers and Zavadskas, 2010;Vaitkuvienė, 2010;Žvirblis and Buračas, 2010) i.e. those living in and making a part of these societies.…”

“…With the reference to Berend (2007) and Vaitkuvienė (2010) it can be stated that the main feature characterizing the societies in the post-communist transition is the sharp collision of traditional values and the values introduced by the communist regime with new values and social behavior requirements such as the entrepreneurship, risk taking, efficiency, and pluralism. after the analysis of literature the other features of the postcommunist societies, mainly deriving from this collision of values, such as weak civic society and the consequent corruption (Berend, 2007;Čiegis et al, 2008;Marčinskas and Galinienė, 2005), climate of mistrust (Marčinskas and Galinienė, 2005;Sapsford and Abbott, 2006;Čiegis et al, 2008), low level of participation and personal initiative (Samalavičius, 2008) can be distinguished. Uncertainty, caused by the increasingly globalizing world, pessimism about the current and future situation and the culture of complain are also attributed to the post-communist societies of Central and Eastern Europe (Berend, 2007;Samalavičius, 2008).…”

“…after the analysis of literature the other features of the postcommunist societies, mainly deriving from this collision of values, such as weak civic society and the consequent corruption (Berend, 2007;Čiegis et al, 2008;Marčinskas and Galinienė, 2005), climate of mistrust (Marčinskas and Galinienė, 2005;Sapsford and Abbott, 2006;Čiegis et al, 2008), low level of participation and personal initiative (Samalavičius, 2008) can be distinguished. Uncertainty, caused by the increasingly globalizing world, pessimism about the current and future situation and the culture of complain are also attributed to the post-communist societies of Central and Eastern Europe (Berend, 2007;Samalavičius, 2008). These peculiarities of the social environment can certainly affect the image of the built heritage in the post-communist societies and the attitudes towards it.…”

Social and Architectural Aspects of Revitalization of Historic Urban Centers: Foreign Experience

“…Dabartiniai įvairia-lypiai ir kartais chaotiški miestų centrų pokyčiai ir socialinės dimensijos nepaisymas skatina apžvelgti Vakarų valstybių, ne vieną šimtmetį derinančių viešuosius ir privačius interesus, patirtį šioje srityje. Miestų centrų atgaivinimo socialinę dimensiją nagrinėti skatina ir kiti pokomunistinės Lietuvos visuomenės ypatumai: nesuvokiamas ar pavėluotai suvokiamas istorinės aplinkos socioekonominis potencialas (Čepaitienė 2005), asmeninės atsakomybės ir iniciatyvos stoka, nepasitikėjimas valdžios institucijomis bei sovietiniais metais įsišaknijusi korupcija ir jos lemiamas teisinis nihilizmas (Berend 2007). Pavyzdžiui, šiandieninę naujos architektūros kū-rimo Vilniaus istoriniame centre situaciją R. Buivydas (2006) apibūdina kaip "griežtai deklaruojamų reglamentavimų ir ne visada nuoseklaus jų vykdymo atspindį".…”