ABSTRACT
Patronage is a universal phenomenon. Patronage relationships are based on specific patterns of exchange characterized by a specific degree of diffusity and informality. Patronage has a long history in Vienna. Modern patronage networks actually stem from the loss of social security entailed by the destruction of feudal society. In the second half of the 19th century, patronage provided a means of mitigating national conflicts through a system of national quotas for positions in the state bureaucracy. Vienna lacked the anonymity of a large urban center. In the neighborhoods, contact with the neighbors and frequently visiting relatives was ubiquitous and intense. This close-knit social system provided the background for singularly effective controls in the political arena. The social basis of the Viennese SPO was formed by the tenants in the communal apartments. Warsaw's patronage system differs from its Viennese counterpart in several important respects.
