SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN TRANSITION Perceptions of influential groups in Estonia, Russia and Finland Sari Kaarina Hanhinen Ph.D. Thesis The School of Slavonic and East European Studies University College London ProQuest Number: U146533 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest U146533 Published by ProQuest LLC(2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT The thesis examines influential groups’ perceptions of social problems in Estonia, Russia and Finland. The context of the study is the ongoing ’’Eastern transition” in Estonia and Russia and the ’’Western transformation” in Finland. Each is changing the accustomed ways to define and treat social problems. The focus is on comparing definitions of social problems, including the causes and solutions suggested by the influential groups. The main assumption is that the framework of defining social problems is changing in all three countries: the state’s role as the body responsible for people’s welfare is diminishing, while more emphasis is being placed on the role of individuals, the market and civil society. Theoretically, the approach is close to social constructionism, according to which social problems are products of collective definition processes. Furthermore, I assume that the influential groups, formed of journalists, administrators and business people, have the power and the possibility to influence the course of social change. The data consists of focus group interviews conducted in Tallinn, St. Petersburg and Helsinki in 1995-1996. The thesis suggests that, for all three countries, the determining factor behind the definitions of social problems is the heavy social costs of the transition and transformation. According to the interviewees, Estonia and Russia are now afflicted with vicious circles of social problems, centered around the problems of crime, poverty, housing, poor health and environmental pollution. In Finland, unemployment and poverty were regarded as the most serious social problems. Mainly due to the severe social problems, the interviewees were not willing to transfer the responsibility for people’s welfare from the state to the market or civil society. The changes in the framework of defining social problems thus turned out to be much less dramatic than expected. Altogether, the results indicate that the welfare systems created during the post-war era are now being partly dismantled in all three countries. However, in the opinion of the influential groups, there is no overall disillusionment with big state solutions to social problems. CONTENTS Abstract 2 List of tables 5 Chapter 1. Introduction 6 Chapter 2. Context of the study: social change and its effects 19 upon the well-being of the people 2.1 The Eastern transition and the socialist legacy 20 2.1.1 Transition paths in Estonia and Russia 33 2.1.2 The social consequences of the transition 40 2.2 The Western transformation and the challenge to the 47 welfare state 2.2.1 Transformation path in Finland 54 2.3 The common framework: the changing roles of the state, 57 the market and civil society 2.4 Conclusion 82 Chapter 3. Studying social problems - theoretical approaches 85 3.1 Objectivism versus subjectivism 85 3.2 Social constructionism 89 3.3 Social problems and social change - the problems of applying 98 social constructionism in post-communist countries 3.4 Defining social problems in socialism and early 104 post-communism 3.5 Changes in definitional frameworks - an outline for 117 a comparative setting Chapter 4. Studying influential groups - the data and the method 121 4.1 Influential groups as defmers of social problems 123 4.1.1 Administrators, journalists, business people 123 and the question of power 4.1.2 The role of values and interests in guiding 125 the perceptions of influential groups 4.2 Focus group interviews as a method of data collection 136 4.3 Notes on comparability 139 4.4 The data 143 Chapter 5. Influential groups’ perceptions of social problems in Estonia 147 and Russia 5.1 The seriousness of different problems 148 5.2 The vicious circles of social problems 156 5.3 Causes of social problems 176 5.4 Bearing the burden - to whom should the responsibility 181 for treating social problems be assigned? 5.5 The new framework of defining social problems 197 Chapter 6. Influential groups’ perceptions of social problems in Finland 227 6.1 Changes in the framework of defining social problems 227 6.2 The seriousness of different problems 230 6.3 The definitions of the most serious social problems 235 6.4 Assuming responsibility: legitimacy and foture 246 of the Finnish welfare state 6.5 Conclusion: no end of the line for welfare - yet 251 Chapter 7. Social problems in social change - comparing Estonia, Russia 260 and Finland 7.1 Social problems from a comparative point of view 261 7.2 Comparing perceptions of social policy 280 7.3 Discussion: from influential groups’ perceptions to the 291 course of social policy systems Appendix A: Guidelines for the focus group interviews 307 Bibliography 309 LIST OF TABLES Table 5.1. Summary of influential groups’ perceptions of the most serious 149 social problems in Estonia and Russia. Table 5.2. Classification of social problems in Estonia and Russia. 153 Table 5.3. Causes for the vicious circles of social problems. 177 Table 5.4. Responsibility for taking care of social problems: State (S), 183 Individuals (I). Summary of the perceptions of the influential groups in Estonia. Table 5.5. Summary of the perceptions of the influential groups on 188 different models of social policy and the role of civil society. Table 1. Appendix 5.1. Social problems and the number of influential 225 persons who regarded them as the most serious problems in Estonia. Table 2. Appendix 5.1. Summary of the influential groups’ perceptions of 226 different models of social policy in Estonia. The number of persons who regarded the model in question probable or preferable. Table 6.1. Seriousness of different social problems in Finland according to 231 influential persons (number of mentions in questionnaire). Table 6.2. Classification of social problems in Finland. 234 Table 6.3. Some causes for unemployment, according to the influential groups. 238 Table 1. Appendix 6.1. Influential persons’ perceptions of (A) the most serious 258 social problems in Finland, (B) the most serious social problems in the respondents’ places of residence, (C) social problems that affect the lives of the interviewees and their families, (D) social problems that most urgently should be solved in Finland. (Number of mentions in questionnaire). Table 2. Appendix 6.1. Responsibility for taking care of social problems: 259 State (S), Individuals (I). Summary of the perceptions of the influential groups in Finland. CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION Social change can have dramatic social consequences. In Estonia and Russia, like in all post-communist countries, the transition from state socialism to market economy and democracy has led to an increasing prevalence of many social problems. Consequently, the former Soviet people, used to a certain level of social security and societal order being guaranteed by the state, have had to learn to cope with problems such as crime, poverty, unemployment, increasing inequality, problems of housing, deteriorating health and environmental pollution. A social scientist familiar with the social problems in the former Soviet Union might argue that many of these problems are, by no means, new phenomena in either Estonia or Russia. However, what matters is that they are perceived as such by the people, who are still learning ways to survive in their new social environments. What makes their task so difficult is the fact that the state’s social security system is not functioning well enough to tackle the new social problems. As regards the well-being of the people, or the social security they are entitled to, the situation is unquestionably better in Finland, the closest Western neighbour of Estonia and Russia. However, even the Finnish people have been touched by social change which, in Finland, is mainly connected with the recession of the early 1990s. The social problems most commonly regarded as the social costs of the changeover from affluence to depression include unemployment, poverty and increasing inequality. In a wider context, the ongoing social change is related to the ’’Western transformation” or ’’crisis of the welfare state,” as it is often called. The idea that a social change seems to cause severe social problems, whatever the type or pace of the transition or transformation, is among the main results of this thesis which examines influential groups’ perceptions of social problems in Estonia, Russia and Finland. The data for the study were collected in the framework of a larger research project called the Baltica study. The multidisciplinary project lasted from 1990 to 1998, with participants from all the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea. Four sub-studies were conducted to examine perceptions of various social problems and their interrelationships under changing social and political conditions\ From 1995, I worked as co-ordinator in a sub-study focusing on the views that influential persons held on social problems in Finland, Russia, the Baltic states and Poland. A secondary comparison of the five post­ communist countries was reported in 1998. (Hanhinen 1998).