Political elite, civil society, and type of capitalism: Estonia and Slovenia

East European Quarterly, March, 2008 by Frane Adam, Matevz Tomsic, Primoz Kristan

The composition of Slovenian elites and the dynamics of the political space have been the subject of dispute among scholars. Some consider the transition period with the dominant position of LDS to be unproblematic, stressing the benign effect of elite reproduction, especially political and social stability (Kramberger/Vehovar, 2002; Iglic/ Rus, 2000), while for others the high level of elite reproduction may produce a long-term malignant effect (although this might not be apparent in the short term), including a possible shift toward an oligarchic democracy (O'Donnell 1998) and the establishment of monopolies and rent-seeking behaviour (Adam/Tomsic, 2002).

Similarly, assessments of Estonia's political development are not univocal. It is generally accepted that the country has achieved great progress in the last fifteen years in terms of the development of its economy, society, and political life. The tempo of its systemic modernization is probably the fastest in the region and it is therefore often labelled the "model pupil" among applicants for EU membership (Smith 2002). For this achievement, the political actors in this period certainly deserve credit. In spite of this, certain observers detect some considerable deficiencies characterizing Estonian politics and society such as increasing social inequality, political egotism and a lack of responsibility, widespread clientelism, etc. (11) The main problem perceived is the elitist behaviour of political leaders and their insensitivity to the interests and preferences of ordinary people. (12) The differing experience of certain social and ethnic groups results in polarized assessments of the democratic process in terms of their satisfaction with the state of democracy (Evans/Lipsmeyer 2001). (13)

State-society relations

In post-communist countries, there is a dominant position of the political sub-system vis-a-vis civil society (Korkut, 2005). This is caused by the exclusivist manner of governing as well as the structural conditions for the functioning of the civil sphere, i.e., its weakness in terms of its personnel, financial, and organizational resources (Nagle and Mahr, 1999; Ost, 2000). Moreover, these societies are characterized by the elitism of both politics and civil society. Reasons for this can be found in (1) the convergence of political and civil society elites (their interconnectedness in terms of strong--albeit often informal--ties between members of the elites) and (2) the missing links between leaders and the masses in both political and civic associations (Korkut, 2005:149).

As regards the two countries under comparison, one can speak about two types of elitism. Estonia is characterized by (neo-)liberal elitism where interest groups are relatively weak and political influence is thus exercised on a predominantly individualist basis, i.e., by the people who possess enough financial and social capital to established connections with the key policy-makers, while in Slovenia a (neo)corporatist elitism involving the overlapping and interlocking of political and non-political elites prevails, meaning a privileged position for those interest groups that are politically "compatible" with the ruling elite.