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

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journal contribution
posted on 2021-08-10, 10:48 authored by Predrag Cvetičanin, Inga Tomić-Koludrović, Mirko Petrić, Željka Zdravković, Adrian LeguinaAdrian Leguina
In this article, we propose a model to analyse 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 reconceptualisation of Bourdieusian notions of political, social, and cultural capital, (2) a different operationalisation 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, i.e. generalised social advantage/disadvantage, in SEE post-socialist societies.

Funding

Swiss National Science Foundation : IZ73Z0_152626

Horizon 2020 Framework Programme : 693537

Ministarstvo prosvete, nauke i tehnološkog razvoja. Grant Number: 337-00-205/2019-09/10

Ministarstvo znanosti, obrazovanja i sporta. Grant Number: 337-00-205/2019-09/10

History

School

  • Social Sciences and Humanities

Department

  • Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy

Published in

British Journal of Sociology

Volume

72

Issue

4

Pages

946-973

Publisher

Wiley

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Rights holder

© London School of Economics and Political Science

Publisher statement

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Cvetičanin, P. ... et al., (2021). From occupational to existential class: How to analyze class structure in hybrid societies (The case of Serbia). British Journal of Sociology, 72 (4), pp.946-973, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12858. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.

Acceptance date

2021-04-18

Publication date

2021-07-31

Copyright date

2021

ISSN

0007-1315

eISSN

1468-4446

Language

  • en

Depositor

Dr Adrian Leguina. Deposit date: 2 June 2021

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