The Persistence of Postcommunist Elites

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Abstract
As in previous historical movements toward democracy, the path of democratization in the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe began with a desire among elites for greater security. Under Stalinism, elite status did not confer security; on the contrary, it exposed elite members to the vicissitudes of intraparty strife and to ever-present threats of demotion, purge, arrest, imprisonment, and death. The desire of Soviet elites to achieve greater security after Stalin died in 1953 resulted in a tacit consensus to rein in the internal-security apparatus, to attempt to rule collectively, and to institute a rough “socialist legality” that placed some checks on the use of power. This lowered the stakes of factional struggle in the post-Stalin era: rather than [End Page 134] imprisonment or execution, losers faced the comparatively mild penalties of forced retirement or demotion. These changes...

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