engleski

From occupational to existential class: How to analyze class structure in hybrid societies (The case of Serbia)

In this article, we propose a model to analyze the class structure of hybrid post-socialist societies in South-East Europe (SEE), using the case of Serbia. We argue that, in such hybrid societies, social inequalities are generated by several mechanisms of similar strength: exploitative market mechanisms (based on economic capital) and different types of social closure mechanisms (based on political and social capital). Their influences are intertwined and cannot be analytically isolated or reduced to a common foundation. Therefore, occupational class analysis in these societies can have only limited explanatory power. In an attempt to overcome these challenges, we were forced to modify the instruments of several established approaches to class analysis. These modifications included (1) a reconceptualization of Bourdieusian notions of political, social, and cultural capital, (2) a different operationalization of social space, (3) identification of specific mechanisms of generating social inequalities, (4) paying attention to both practical and discursive classifications of lifestyles in the establishment of symbolic boundaries, and (5) relying on differential association analysis for identifying class boundaries. Our analysis's final result is a model that enables studying general social inequality, that is, generalized social advantage/disadvantage, in SEE post-socialist societies.

class, multidimensional model of analysis, Bourdieu, hybrid societies, South-East Europe

This paper is based on the results of two research projects: “Life-Strategies and Survival Strategies of Households and Individuals in South-East European Societies in the Times of Crisis” (IZ73Z0_152626) supported within the SCOPES program by the Swiss National Science Foundation; and “Closing the Gap Between Formal and Informal Institutions in the Balkans” supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant No 693537. The preparation of this article was made possible by the bilateral scientific collaboration project “Developing a Multidimensional Model of Researching Social Inequalities” (337-00- 205/ 2019-09/ 10), jointly funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia and the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia.