Elite Transforn1ation and Modes of Representation since the Mid-Nineteenth Century: Some Theoretical Considerations

Abstract

Abstract It is now approximately thirty years since Stein Rokkan developed his theoretical framework and empirical grid for a comparative study of nation building and state formation in Western Europe. His systematizations became the intellectual guideline for several generations of sociologists and political scientists and the point of departure for numerous research projects in comparative political sociology. In Rokkan’s conceptual framework, political elites formed a central object of interest because their structure sets the stage for the formation of sociopolitical coalitions, which are in turn the decisive, explanatory factor for the variations among European party systems. In his initial proposal for a grid of indicators for the comparative study of political development, there was already a section on the recruitment of elite groups. Recruitment patterns were of particular interest for Rokkan because he maintained that the changing composition of elites reflects the processes of social and political mobilization, of societal integration, and the establishment of rules for access to positions and resources in a society (Rokkan 1967).