Friends or Foes of Transformation? Economic Elites in Post-Soviet Ukraine – an Introduction
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Oksana Huss
Oksana Huss is a post-doctoral researcher at the Leiden University Institute for History and cofounder of the Interdisciplinary Corruption Research Network (ICRNetwork.org) . She obtained her PhD in political science at the Institute for Development and Peace, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. The focus of her academic work is on political corruption in hybrid regimes and open government.
and
Olena Petrenko
Olena Petrenko is lecturer at the Department of History, Ruhr-University Bochum. She obtained her PhD in 2015 at the Ruhr University on the topic of the female contribution to the armed Ukrainian nationalistic underground in the 1930s-1950s. The book “Unter Männern. Frauen im ukrainischen nationalistischen Untergrund, 1929-1954” was published bySchöningh in 2018.
Abstract
Economic elite is a crucial concept to the understanding of turbulent transformation processes in contemporary Ukraine. In this volume we follow central questions on the interface between research into elites and into transformation: What is the role of economic elites in regime development towards democracy or authoritarianism? What strategies of influence and legitimation do they exploit in society? We pursue the question of origins and continuity of contemporary economic elites in Ukraine. In order to address these issues, we combine historical analysis with theoretical approaches of transformation studies to explore contemporary societal changes in the long-time context. At the same time, methodological pluralism and inter-disciplinarity allow the role of economic elites from both actor-centred and structural perspectives to be addressed. The common assumption among articles is that economic elites in contemporary Ukraine, mainly represented by oligarchs, are characterised by high continuity despite repeated revolutionary upheavals in the country. This continuity is sustained by the close integration of economic and political elites, as well as by the flexible strategies of exerting influence and adapting their self-representation. In the historic context, the sustainability of contemporary economic elites in Ukraine is rather an exception, since the events of the 20th century were highly disruptive for the elite networks.
Note
This volume follows the outcomes of the international interdisciplinary conference “Friends or Foes of Transformation? Economic Elites in Ukraine from Historic and Comparative perspective” that took place at the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI) Essen, Germany on July 7–8, 2017, supported by the KWI Essen and the Embassy of Ukraine in Germany. It brought together researchers from six different disciplines and seven countries. The conference was organized by the interdisciplinary network “Ukraine: Post-Soviet Society in Transition” represented by Oksana Huss, Oleksandra Keudel, and Olena Petrenko.
About the authors
Oksana Huss is a post-doctoral researcher at the Leiden University Institute for History and cofounder of the Interdisciplinary Corruption Research Network (ICRNetwork.org). She obtained her PhD in political science at the Institute for Development and Peace, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. The focus of her academic work is on political corruption in hybrid regimes and open government.
Olena Petrenko is lecturer at the Department of History, Ruhr-University Bochum. She obtained her PhD in 2015 at the Ruhr University on the topic of the female contribution to the armed Ukrainian nationalistic underground in the 1930s-1950s. The book “Unter Männern. Frauen im ukrainischen nationalistischen Untergrund, 1929-1954” was published by Schöningh in 2018.
© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Abhandlungen
- Friends or Foes of Transformation? Economic Elites in Post-Soviet Ukraine – an Introduction
- Oligarchs in Ukrainian Foreign Policymaking: Examining Influences in Transnational Politics
- Sustaining Business-State Symbiosis in Times of Political Turmoil: the Case of Ukraine 2007-2018
- The Business-superman: Oligarchs Justifying Giving in Post-Soviet Ukraine
- Global Arms Production and Ukraine’s Unpredictable Soviet Inheritance
- Forschungs- und Literaturberichte
- Die Rübenzuckerindustrie im Süd-Westen des Zarenreiches und die neuen Agrareliten
- Necessity or Luxury? Welfare Work in the Company Towns of the Russian Empire
- The Importance of Connections: The Rise of Jewish Business Elites in Galicia
- Handlungsspielräume in der Befehlswirtschaft – Die Hüttenwerke in der Ukraine unter deutscher Besatzung
- Preis für Wirtschaftsgeschichte
- The Political Role of Business Magnates in Competitive Authoritarian Regimes
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Abhandlungen
- Friends or Foes of Transformation? Economic Elites in Post-Soviet Ukraine – an Introduction
- Oligarchs in Ukrainian Foreign Policymaking: Examining Influences in Transnational Politics
- Sustaining Business-State Symbiosis in Times of Political Turmoil: the Case of Ukraine 2007-2018
- The Business-superman: Oligarchs Justifying Giving in Post-Soviet Ukraine
- Global Arms Production and Ukraine’s Unpredictable Soviet Inheritance
- Forschungs- und Literaturberichte
- Die Rübenzuckerindustrie im Süd-Westen des Zarenreiches und die neuen Agrareliten
- Necessity or Luxury? Welfare Work in the Company Towns of the Russian Empire
- The Importance of Connections: The Rise of Jewish Business Elites in Galicia
- Handlungsspielräume in der Befehlswirtschaft – Die Hüttenwerke in der Ukraine unter deutscher Besatzung
- Preis für Wirtschaftsgeschichte
- The Political Role of Business Magnates in Competitive Authoritarian Regimes
