Overview

In the past half-century every Central and East European society has been twice subject to transformation. Initially, Hungary was transformed by Communist-style modernization, increasing industry, expanding secondary education and improving health. The second shock was the collapse of the Communist regime and the introduction of democratic institutions and a market economy. This text looks at how much or how little impact institutional change has had on the lives of ordinary people. Drawing on detailed surveys, highlighted in tables and figures, the authors: identify long-term changes in Hungary from the late 1940s to the late 1980s; analyse the impact of the collapse of the Communist system in the 1990s and compare long-term/short-term change in Hungary with trends in other Central and Eastern European countries.

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Reviews

In their introduction to A Society Transformed, Tamas Kolosi and Richard Rose map out a well-focused goal of charting and determining the degrees and depths of change in Hungary since the end of World War II, particularly after the transformations created by the events of 1989. They also provide a solid outline of Hungarian history in the twentieth century and set up the problems of interpreting the monumental change Hungary has undergone in the post-World War II era. Provocatively, they posit the challenge that 1989 was not a revolution but rather one of a series of transformations over the past century. ...Hungary is usually compared with other Soviet client states. A Society Transformed offers illuminating comparisons between Hungary and Western nations, including the United States, without suggesting a pattern of backwardness or a maladapted path towards the present. * Austrian Studies Newsletter * The book could be a useful resource for those searching for sociological data to support claims about recent economic transformations in Hungary. * Slavic and East European Journal * Anyone with an interest in the development of society will obtain many ideas from this book and will be rewarded with an understanding of the effect of the fall of the communist regime in Hungary in the context of other changes. * Statistician *

Author Information

Rudolf Andorka was Professor of Sociology and former Rector of the Budapest University of Economics. György Vukovich is former Director of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office. Tamás Kolosi is President of the Social Research Informatics Centre, Budapest.

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