Objetivo The proposed project consists in a comparative analysis of the impact of the ‘transition winner/loser’ divide on political cleavages in four post-communist party systems: Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. It has two key purposes: (i) to identify whether winner/loser cleavages emerged in these countries over the first two decades of transition, and (ii) to explain these outcomes in comparative perspective. From the beginning of the post-communist transition, the notion of ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ was commonplace. Observers expected that the new inequalities introduced by the logic of the market society and the differentiated adjustment of social groups would deepen and crystallise social hierarchies, to the benefit of those individuals who possessed the capital to take advantage of new opportunities and the detriment of those who lacked such capital. Many also predicted that the winner/loser divide would form the basis of political divides in the emergent party systems, and that these divides would subsequently harden into lasting political cleavages.Although the winner/loser divide has been employed in a number of country studies, the literature on this topic is lacking in three respects: (i) no studies use a comprehensive theoretical approach that treats the divide as both objective and subjective in nature; (ii) there are currently no comparative, diachronic studies focusing directly on this cleavage that cover the whole of the transition period, and (iii) few studies to date have analysed the regional, aggregate-level dimension of this divide using appropriate methods. The proposed project will fill this research gap. Such research is particularly relevant at present in light of the potentially profound impact of the European economic crisis on the nature of party politics in the region, since the generation of new cohorts of ‘losers’ is likely to have significant implications for the development of the still-nascent party systems of the region. Ámbito científico social sciencespolitical sciencesgovernment systems Programa(s) FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Tema(s) FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF - Marie-Curie Action: "Intra-European fellowships for career development" Convocatoria de propuestas FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoria Régimen de financiación MC-IEF - Intra-European Fellowships (IEF) Coordinador THE UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX Aportación de la UE € 231 283,20 Dirección SUSSEX HOUSE FALMER BN1 9RH Brighton Reino Unido Ver en el mapa Región South East (England) Surrey, East and West Sussex Brighton and Hove Tipo de actividad Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Contacto administrativo David Rose (Mr.) Enlaces Contactar con la organización Opens in new window Sitio web Opens in new window Coste total Sin datos