"Rules" and "Roles"

On the basis of 15 case studies of the East-European transition this book analyzes how institutional roles are adapted in a new, unstable cultural, political and institutional environment. It investigates the relationships between roles, cultural identities and public images, the transformations and hybridizations that professional roles undergo in such fluid context as well as the consequences for the institutional cultures in Eastern Europe. The contributors - scholars from Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia - are experts in various fields such as sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, media studies, philosophy etc.

Alexander Kiossev is associate professor in History of Modern Culture at Sofia University. He is author of three books and many articles as well as editor of several collective volumes. His research interests are in the spheres of cultural history of institutions, construction of identities, space and imaginary geographies.

Petya Kabakchieva is associate professor of sociology and head of the Department of Sociology at Sofia University. She is the author of one book and co-author of several others. Her recent research interests are in the field of sociology of European Integration - institutional changes, migration flows and interplay of identities.

Kiossev and Kabakchieva were leaders of the international research project "Roles, Identities and Hybrids. Multiple Institutional Cultures in Southeast Europe within the Context of European Unification 2003 - 2006" (sponsored by the VolkswagenStiftung,) which results are presented in the present book.