The Challenges of Sustained Development: The Role of Socio-cultural Factors in East-central Europe

The book presents a model of the major factors of developmental performance, their inter-relations and effects that are supposed to generate sustained societal development. They include cultural traditions, social capital, cognitive mobilization, quality of governance, entrepreneurial spirit, social cohesion and openness toward international environments. These factors are measured by many empirical indicators; the data are presented for the old and new members of the European Union as well as the other European nations. The significance of the factors in the model is both tested and confirmed using the fuzzy set analysis. Successful accomplishment of institutional reforms is necessary but not sufficient condition for system competitiveness. The results imply that broader socio-cultural factors discussed in the book are necessary: a country can only embark on positive developmental trends if all factors are present simultaneously, since cumulative effect and synergy are required.

Table of Contents:
1. INTRODUCTION: THE POINT OF DEPARTURE 2. CIVILISATIONAL COMPETENCE 3. SOCIAL CAPITAL 4. COGNITIVE MOBILISATION 5. QUALITY OF GOVERNANCE 6. ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT 7. SOCIAL COHESION 8. THE OPENNESS OF SOCIETIES 9. DEVELOPMENTAL PERFORMANCE 10. CONCLUSION REFERENCES DATABASES

About the Author :
Borut Roncevic, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the School of Business and Management in Novo Mesto, Slovenia. Matevž Tomšic, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Research Fellow at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences. Matej Makarovic, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences. Frane Adam, Ph.D. is Professor of Sociology at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences.

Review :
"This excellent example of critical modernization studies focuses on issues of socio-economic development, paying special attention to so-called cultural factors of development.... [This book] is an inspiring attempt at offering a theoretically and methodologically sound ‘cultural’ approach to developmental, institutional and social change. It integrates a broad exploration of social-theory sources with carefully conducted empirical analyses. Moreover, it outlines a holistic, heuristic model of developmental performance, which is immediately put to the empirical test by the authors in the comparative analyses focused on post-communist countries. It is noteworthy that the authors do not hide theoretical and methodological difficulties inherent in the proposed model – unique in itself – but try to overcome them or, at least, to warn the reader against them. In addition, they leave the model open for further elaboration. Throughout the book they present and discuss an impressive pool of variegated, both quantitative and qualitative, data that may be used for further analyses."