Legacies of State Socialism: A Comparative Study of Elite Attitudes towards EU Economic Competitiveness in Western and Central Eastern Europe

Abstract

The elites of Western Europe prefer social security for all citizens as the major aim of the EU, while the preference of Central and Eastern European elites is for a more globally competitive European economy. This disparity between elite preferences may be accounted for by the distinct electorates and elites’ responsive strategic calculations, or by the process of socialisation Central and Eastern European elites undergo during exposure to the EU. This article argues that the predominant reason for the difference in elite attitudes towards economic competition is the lasting effect of state socialism in Central and Eastern European countries.

Notes

1 The project was coordinated by José Real-Dato (University of Almería, Spain). The Centre for the Study of Political Change (CIRCaP) of the University of Siena (Italy) was responsible for the data collection. The data use from this project was limited to project participants until November 2018. For additional information see: http://enec-2014.wixsite.com/enec-2014, accessed 12 February 2019.

2 During the economic downturn of 2008, the political elites of the EU founding states demonstrated a dramatic retreat from supporting supranational EU policies (the delegation of immigration, unemployment, crime and health care policies to the EU). In 2014 their support for supranational EU authority reverted to the levels of 2007. See Šumskas and Matonytė (2016).

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by Grant No. MIP-025/2015 from the Research Council of Lithuania.

Notes on contributors

Gintaras Šumskas

Gintaras Šumskas, Vytautas Magnus University, V. Putvinskio str. 23–604, LT-44243 Kaunas, Lithuania

Irmina Matonytė

Irmina Matonytė, The General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, Šilo str. 5 A, Vilnius LT-10322, Lithuania. Email: [email protected]