Transformation – Reality or Simulacrum?

In this report the concept of transformational societies will be revised. The concept was widely applied to address post-communist societies and especially value, institutional, normative change and related phenomena. However it is unclear whether the change is accomplished and what a post-transformational society is or should be like. Besides, a broader context should be considered. Are transformational societies only those with the communist past or can other societies, for example, experiencing economic crisis or different kinds of social instability such as revolutions or wars, or even those who enter the European Union also experience a transformation? Surely, the contemporary context is totally different from the change meant by Durkheim when he wrote about the transition from the traditional society to the industrial one. Contemporary societies are characterized by what Urry calls complexity and certain changes became their permanent characteristic. So is it possible to differentiate between a transition and a societal change? These and other questions will be addressed in the report.