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.