#11967. From occupational to existential class: How to analyze class structure in hybrid societies (The case of Serbia)

October 2026publication date
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Journal’s subject area:
Sociology and Political Science;
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Abstract:
In this article, we propose a model to analyze the class structure of hybrid post-socialist societies in South-East Europe (SEE). 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). 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 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.
Keywords:
Class structure; general social inequality; post-socialist hybrid societies

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