ABSTRACT
If stagnation or decline is what STEs face in the 1980s and beyond, then various actions aimed at remedying the situation may be expected to be undertaken by the ruling communist elites in these countries. In this section I preface my future-oriented discussion of what are the probable (or only possible) developments in Eastern Europe with an analysis of the constraints under which the ruling elites operate or, more simply, of what they cannot do to improve the situation.
