Friends or Foes of Transformation? Economic Elites in Post-Soviet Ukraine – an Introduction

Abstract Economic elite is a crucial concept to the understanding of turbulent transformation processes in contemporary Ukraine. In this volume we follow central questions on the interface between research into elites and into transformation: What is the role of economic elites in regime development towards democracy or authoritarianism? What strategies of influence and legitimation do they exploit in society? We pursue the question of origins and continuity of contemporary economic elites in Ukraine. In order to address these issues, we combine historical analysis with theoretical approaches of transformation studies to explore contemporary societal changes in the long-time context. At the same time, methodological pluralism and inter-disciplinarity allow the role of economic elites from both actor-centred and structural perspectives to be addressed. The common assumption among articles is that economic elites in contemporary Ukraine, mainly represented by oligarchs, are characterised by high continuity despite repeated revolutionary upheavals in the country. This continuity is sustained by the close integration of economic and political elites, as well as by the flexible strategies of exerting influence and adapting their self-representation. In the historic context, the sustainability of contemporary economic elites in Ukraine is rather an exception, since the events of the 20th century were highly disruptive for the elite networks.