Les classes dominantes à l'épreuve de la mondialisation

Abstract

This paper builds upon an empirical survey of the management of the one hundred largest companies in eight countries (Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Japan, China, United States). It shows how the internationalization of these elites remains relatively limited in scope (percentage of foreigners within each top management, periods of residence abroad), despite some variation between countries. It then looks at the career patterns that dominate at the national level to explain the resistance that the process of internationalization encounters. We focus in particular on the case of France, which is characterized by the important role of the state in the maintenance of a traditional national elite and in the lesser degree of internationalization observed from one cohort to another. The paper shows that even in a context of economic globalization, the framework of the nation-state plays a key role – particularly in France – in explaining the formation of the dominant classes in the economic field.