Elite Circulation and lnstitutional Consolidation in Eastern Germany
Abstrakti
The dual regime change, revolution and
unification, distinguishes the case of the former GDR
from all other regime changes in the former Soviet
empire and opened exceptional opportunities for
adjustment to democratization and marketization.
Administrative and political institutions were
available, which had proven effective in the western
part of the country since 1949. Furthermore, the
exceptional circumstances of a dual revolution
created extra-ordinary conditions for filling these
institutions with life by enabling an extent of elite
circulation unknown elsewhere. Political purge and
elite import from the West are inspected as the most
important mechanisms. Secondly, on the basis of
survey data, the development of trust in institutions
is analyzed. It is argued that the positive
development in this respect might have to do with
recruiting the administrative and judicial elites from
the western part of the country, for they represent
the new institutions and keep them under control.
