Elite Attitudes Research Articles

Elite paradox

The paradoxical nature of the existence and functioning of power elites is not a new fact. However, it has been the object of few studies. This is due to the ambiguity of the term and of the phenomenon itself,which is described under the name “elite”. This applies equally to the “paradox”. The author, based on the principles of institutional analysis and starting from the theory of structuration and the theory of paradox in its managerial version, studies both concepts and offers an approach to the analysis of the elite paradox. Firstly, the contradictory position of the power elites in the societal system is revealed: being a subsystem, they regulate and direct the functioning of the entire system. Secondly, the multidirectional nature of the system requirements for the elites is studied. Thirdly, the discrepancy perceived by the observer between the expected characteristics and functions (based on ideas about the role of elites in the social system) and those that are actually recorded are considered. These variants represent the modes of the basic structural paradox of the part and the whole. Elites are derivatives of the social order, and they are also active agents in its formation and consolidation of the principles of its functioning. At the same time, elites are forced to go beyond the framework of the normative system they themselves protect. Otherwise, their main function - the stabilization of the system - will not be realized. The poly-role nature of elite individuals and their control of resources can lead to the privatization of power institutions and the realization of group and personal interests to the detriment of public ones. In modern society, the forced openness of the elite leads to a paradox of public intimacy. Elites are doomed to a transborder existence and ambivalent characteristics, primarily moral ones.

Late Medieval Administration and Bookkeeping in The Crown of Aragon: Torralba’s Company

The attempt to rebuild the socioeconomic reality of the fifteenth-century Crown of Aragon has brought us to all the companies once founded and managed by Joan de Torralba. Linking two main commercial cities of that time — Zaragoza and Barcelona with the forefront financial centres of those days - Italian cities, in particular, Venice, Pisa-Florence, and Genoa — set the company in a unique position. This paper studies two primary components of our business: corporate and financial management. This analysis intends to demonstrate the complexity of management in late medieval companies of the Crown of Aragon, alongside knowledge diffusion and the extent and significance of weaving networks. We have in mind to present how the administration was developing, giving the local colour and regional details, making much of the proper management and contacts through the Mediterranean, employing management and historical analysis. The results reveal that the companies in the Crown of Aragon benefited from their management approach. The position of merchant elites, with the example observed by Joan de Torralba as the executive, was prominent. Hence, the weight of the last centuries of the Middle Ages, considering the West Mediterranean area, was essential in the transition to build a modern-like economic space.

Reclaiming what is ours: Elite continuity and revanchism

Abstract What explains the revanchism of (post-)imperial states? This question has renewed salience amid Russia’s expanded war against Ukraine in 2022. In this article, we conceptualise revanchism as a foreign policy preference that involves reclaiming territory once controlled. We also advance a new explanation for revanchism that emphasises elite continuity in those states that experience territorial loss. Elite continuity matters because the ruling political class in (post-)imperial states, which was socialised under the old regime, preserves certain beliefs about world politics and the perceived legitimacy of their territorial claims. We show that elite continuity between the Soviet and post-Soviet political leadership in Moscow helps explain Russia’s revanchism better than those alternative explanations that we derive from the International Relations literature. To substantiate our argument, we compile a novel dataset to operationalise elite continuity across regimes and use discursive evidence and other indicators of elite attitudes towards the desirability of reclaiming lost territory. We also discuss the applicability of our theory to other cases.

STRATEGIC CULTURE OF SAUDI ARABIA

The publication analyses the impact of Saudi Arabia’s strategic culture on the formation of its foreign policy. The relevance of the topic is connected to the growing challenges in the field of international security associated with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, which has demonstrated fundamental changes in the modern system of international relations with a tendency towards multipolarity with mega-centres of power. Within the Middle East international political space, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia may become such a centre of power, one of the national interests of which is the desire to gain regional leadership. The article analyses the theoretical foundations of the concept of strategic culture and extrapolates these conclusions to the study of the attitude of the Saudi political elite to the use of force, as well as the tools for preventing and combating potential risks and threats to national security. Thus, through the prism of constructivism theory, the article outlines each of the main components of Saudi Arabia’s strategic culture, namely: the role of the country’’s strategically important geographical location, historical retrospective of the state’s formation, analysis of the perception of threats and tools for overcoming them, the state’s attitude to its enemies and allies in the international arena, and the factor of «soft power”.It is determined that the strategic culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is based on a high level of sensitivity to internal and external threats, which is the reason for the active militaristic policy of the state, rivalry for regional dominance with Iran and development of strategic relations with a strong ally, which historically has been the United States of America. At the same time, it should be noted that in order to achieve national interests in the turbulent international security environment, Saudi Arabia actively uses the soft power factor, which has a direct correlation with its national identity as an Islamic state.

Not so different: Comparing British MPs’ and voters’ attitudes to climate change

Abstract There is a growing literature investigating the attitudes of political elites and citizens in a range of areas, and this article uses matched survey data of British MPs and voters to contribute a new comparison of their views on climate change. It finds limited evidence of systematic differences between MPs’ and voters’ attitudes to climate change: neither group is clearly more concerned about the issue than the other nor more polarized along partisan lines. However, there does appear to be incongruence between MPs’ and voters’ views on some specific climate policies. The research builds on previous analyses of British MPs’ approaches to climate change, including finding that party identity is more useful in predicting their perspectives on climate change than their perception of public attitudes.

Instrumentalism or Commitment to Social Justice? Shifting Inter-Ethnic Solidarities in Post-Coup Myanmar

The Bamar majority’s institutionalised dominance and the exclusion of other ethnic groups from the Bamar’s notion of national identity has been a cause of conflict in Myanmar. The 2021 coup has, however, underscored the need for co-operation between Bamar and ethnic forces against the military. Drawing on Graeber’s conceptualisation of revolutions as opportunities to disrupt “unequal structures of imaginative identification” and Walton’s consideration of Burman privilege akin to Whiteness, this article examines shifts in inter-ethnic dynamics. How have new forms of inter-ethnic solidarity demonstrated by the Bamar majority towards other ethnic groups challenged unequal structures of privilege since the coup? Through textual analysis of statements by Bamar revolutionary leaders and semi-structured interviews with members of ten ethnic communities, the article explores ethnic reactions to changing attitudes of Bamar elites and ordinary Bamar citizens. Findings suggest that Myanmar’s ongoing revolutionary situation has prompted the Bamar majority to reflect on their privilege. Yet, the quality of Bamar solidarity towards ethnic minorities varies among different Bamar socio-political groups, ranging from instrumental alliances to a shared vision for social justice. The article concludes that although inter-ethnic solidarity building remains a work in progress, some positive steps towards ethnic and class emancipation have been made.

Civil society elites: managers of civic capital

The article takes the first steps towards a general theory of civil society elites, a concept not fully developed in either elite or civil society research. This conceptual gap hampers academic and public understanding of the dynamics at the top of civil society. To address this, the authors rely on the theoretical framework of Pierre Bourdieu to build a theory of civil society elites as managers of civic capital. This role is illustrated through examples from the differently institutionalised UK and Nordic civil societies. The first part of the article introduces the notion of civic capital and its emergence during the 19th century. The second part focuses on elite positions in civil society fields, demonstrating how civil society elites, as managers of civic capital, navigate between their constituents and other elite groups. These elites wield the power to consecrate social relations while misrecognising their own symbolic and economic gains. Recent scandals in the climate movement and UK and Nordic civil societies shed light on the symbolic aspects of the positions of civil society elites. This comprehensive analysis contributes to elite and civil society research and enriches public discussions about the role of civil society leaders in society.

Роль политических институтов в экономическом развитии Юга России в условиях новой реальности

Introduction. Ineffective resolution of economic problems by political institutions can jeopardize a country’s technological sovereignty in the face of existing geopolitical challenges. The purpose of the article is to identify areas for increasing the efficiency of the functioning of political institutions from the point of view of ensuring the economic security of the southern Russian regions, considering the challenges of socio-economic development that exist for them. Methodology and methods. This study centers on the Southern Federal District, which acts as an administrative entity responsible for implementing regional-level economic policies. The research utilized content analysis of scientific publications and comparative analysis of regional socio-economic indicators of economic development as part of implementing economic policy. The method for analyzing the influence of political institutions on economic development was based on the principle of balancing the combination of tactical and strategic decisions in assessing the effectiveness of implemented measures and was based on the basic principles of the theory of factors of production. Analysis. An analysis of the results of the economic policy pursued in the southern Russian regions showed that a relatively high level of resistance to sanctions challenges is ensured mainly by the export capabilities of agricultural products. However, the continued high level of import dependence on production increases the risk of conflict over the use of production factors between exportoriented companies and companies oriented to the domestic market, which creates significant threats to the implementation of national growth models. The turn of state economic policy towards the global East and South poses the tasks of the authorities of the southern Russian regions to develop transport infrastructure, as well as state support for companies participating in the construction of new production and supply chains. At the same time, increasing migration flows from border areas requires solving the problem of ensuring the socio-economic well-being of both the people moving and the host community. Results. It was found that the existing political risks to the economic development of southern Russian regions are associated with a lack of balance between the political decisions made and the strategic objectives of achieving technological sovereignty. It is concluded that the conditions of modern economic reality require economic and political mobilization to achieve value consensus and consolidation in society in order to solve the problems of economic development, implemented through the responsibility and patriotic position of political and economic elites at all levels of government. Authors’ contribution. I.V. Mitrofanova: development and justification of the concept; interpretation and synthesis of research results; O.A. Chernova: formation of methodology; development of research design; content analysis; formulation of conclusions.

Elite Attitudes to the ‘Public Sphere’ in Fifteenth-Century Castile

ABSTRACT This article examines the manifold and complex responses of fifteenth-century elite politicians and writers to ‘public’ politics in Castile. Through analysis of a variety of sources including chronicles, allegorical poems, treatises, glosses and letters, it shows how the multiple conceptions of non-elite agency and attitudes to it can nuance our understanding of Castilian politics in the late Middle Ages. It argues that fifteenth-century chronicles, glosses and allegorical poems demonstrate a new attention from the elite to wider contexts beyond the confines of the traditional political society, which responded both to literary fashions and to real changes in the political reality of late medieval society. Moreover, their complex and even contradictory responses, which denigrated, appropriated and addressed these wider ‘publics’, ought to be considered integral to the development of ‘public opinion’, as part of a set of discursive and institutional struggles for the right to express political opinions.

Габитус правящей элиты современной России

The purpose of the article is to establish the peculiarities of the habitus of the ruling elite in modern Russia. The methodological basis is the position according to which certain points of view, type of thinking, habitus correspond to the social position. As a method of collecting information, one of the varieties of document analysis is thematic analysis. According to the results of the study, the following characteristic of the habitus of the ruling elite of modern Russia was given. The ideological attitudes of the Russian elite are oriented towards the patterns of Western culture, but the stability and depth of the referential orientation towards the West of the Russian elite groups depends on the political and economic situation. The ruling elite of Russia is conservative, it is generally satisfied with its position in Russia. The same reason leads to its negative attitude to any significant social transformations. The conservatism of the Russian elite leads to the rejection of analytical thinking, with the help of which reality is decomposed in order to construct from its parts the future that is fundamentally different from the present. The ruling elite strives to see the world as integral and organic. The elite strata, at least, are suspicious and distrustful of the intellectual abilities and moral qualities of the Russian population. Attributing certain stable socio-psychological qualities to the population (irresponsibility, low ability to self-organize and adapt to changing socio-economic conditions, infantilism, inadequate assessment of reality) indicates a deep gap between the elite and other social groups, which, given such an obvious stigmatization, becomes not only political or economic, but also psychological. And this, in turn, is an additional conflictogenic factor. Failure to take into account the peculiarities of the situation of opposing social groups, which is a consequence of socially determined stigmatization, will be perceived as an arrogant and dismissive attitude, which often becomes the detonator of social clashes. Such a negative and exaggerated assessment of the socio-psychological qualities of the population is reflected in the quality of public administration. In the latter, there is a tendency to primitivization and one-sidedness of influence, a constant search for simple solutions. The failures caused by this are justified by the immaturity of the people, their low moral qualities, which only intensifies the social gap and differentiation.

Political culture and attitudes of economic elites: explaining the Chilean business community’s rejection to constitutional change

AbstractIn contexts of institutional crisis, conflicts arise in which different pressure groups try to maximize their influence, seeking to adjust a political reality in line with their own interest. This article analyzes the changes in the attitudes of economic elites regarding the process of drafting of a new Constitution in Chile. Based on the literature on the political culture of entrepreneurs, the research hypothesis posed in this study suggests the existence of a widespread conservative attitude within this social group regarding a change in institutional rules. This mainly relates to the perception that a new Constitution in Chile could threaten its predominant place in the distribution of economic and political power. The results obtained after analyzing in-depth interviews with presidents or vice presidents of the main business organizations in the country show changing positions throughout the different stages of the constituent process. Even though some attitudinal changes towards an adaptation become visible, what ultimately prevails is an unmitigated rejection of the constituent process. These findings clearly suggest a return to the initial stances of most entrepreneurs, something that also happened in the elite examined as well as in the rest of Chilean society. Thus, one can speak about a sort of “boomerang effect”: the attitudes of rejection have once again dominated the space of discursive expression where the pressure exerted by public opinion seemed to pave the way for a certain reformism or a transforming reaction. This evidence confirms a disconnection found in the literature which reveals the dynamic nature of short-term attitudes linked to each specific situation, albeit with more stable values and positions specific to the political culture which exist on a more persistent basis.

Trajectories in the development of Amhara nationalism: Is it from rejection to embracement?

AbstractAmhara nationalism emerged in the Ethiopian political discourse in the 1990s, and has appeared at varying paces across time. This article examines whether the trajectories in Amhara identity conceptions go from rejection to embracing Amhara ethnicity. A qualitative data analysis is used gleaned from various sources including archives, opinions expressed in social media platforms, and key informant interviews undertaken largely in 2020. The article revealed how Amhara ethnicity has been built under various political contexts in Ethiopia. In the last, nearly three decades’ actors and political parties shift their subscription from Ethiopian identity to Amhara and the other way around. This shows the situationality, and variability of ethnicity, and more importantly, the weight of context in the construction of identity discourses and practices. The practice of “Amhara democratic nationalism”, with its Bolshevik ingredients, aimed to “discipline” Amhara, accompanied by the attitude of many ethnonationalist elites which consider all Amhara as an oppressor gave way to reactive ethnicity, and Amhara political identity is already established with essential implications for the current political discontent and future of Ethiopia.

Formation of images of the future in the USSR in the 1920s.

The article is devoted to the trends in the formation of images of the future in the USSR in the 1920s. The subject of the study is the image of the future as an object of design during the formation of a new state of society, the search for guidelines and practices of social development. Design in a broad context is considered as an active creative activity to shape the image of the future. Design may imply certain deadlines for its implementation, or it may be based on approximate calculations, on some guidelines that do not have a strict time limit. The research methods were historical-analytical, historical-comparative, historical-genetic, system-analytical. The postulates of F. Polak and E. Bloch were adopted as the methodological basis for studying images of the future. The article identifies the subjects of designing images of the future in the period under study, among whom are the leaders and ideologists of the Communist Party, as well as representatives of the urban intelligentsia. The main factors in the formation of images of the future are identified, among which are noted: the “current present”, political programs and ideological attitudes of the power elite, ideological trends of previous decades, scientific achievements, value systems. Projecting images of the future by subjects in the 1920s, experiencing the influence of various factors, led to the formation of images of a predominantly utopian nature, defining the horizons of the “expected” or “possible” future. Given the schematic and vagueness of the political guidelines for communism and the diversity of its author’s figurative variants, the future society was presented in the general categories of collectivism, science-centrism, technocratism, the ideals of a new socially determined person, and the subordination of nature to society.

"Noise and Fury Signifying Nothing": Music, Sound, and Class in Covent Garden

Abstract: In the mid-eighteenth century, Covent Garden played host to a variety of different types and classes of people. It was the site of the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, the Shakespeare's Head tavern, and numerous brothels. It also included the residences and shops of famed writers and artists. Yet despite its reputation as a meeting place for all ranks, the square had clear class divisions between those who lived in the fashionable houses on the northern side and the working people of the street market further south. This essay examines the different sonic territories within Covent Garden and how they were marked by gender and class. Starting with sites of musical performance, I propose that music can tell us much about the aural experiences of the time. An examination of maps and images of the market illustrates how sound helped to reproduce and reinforce elite attitudes toward lower-class people. Music also relegated women to certain roles within that environment and tells us much about attitudes toward female labor. Finally, the history of musical culture in Covent Garden Market demonstrates how permeable class boundaries could be even when there was an interest in resisting change and upholding a strict class hierarchy.

Культ святых и паломнические традиции у народов Волго-Уральского региона в досоветское время

The history and culture of the holy sites in the Volga-Ural region remains an underdeveloped topic in ethnological science. The introduction of new written sources into scientific circulation and a secondary analysis of the works of Russian and foreign researchers can help in solving this problem. The article aims to systematise and analyse information about the cult of saints and pilgrimage traditions among the peoples of the Volga-Ural region in the pre-Soviet period. The belonging of holy sites to certain peoples has become the main principle of the distribution of information. Its use showed the need to single out a separate group of data that reveals the syncretism of holy sites among the Volga-Ural peoples. The collected corpus of materials made it possible to identify the main places of worship in the region, pilgrimage traditions, the attitude of national and religious elites towards sacred objects, and the nature of public discussions. The authors believe that when studying the cult of saints, it is important to take into account the essence of "holiness" and the ideas about it among individual peoples, the system of its maintenance – oral and written heritage, ritual and ceremonial culture. The nature of the worship of holy sites in the context of intercultural contacts in the Volga-Ural region is of great importance.

Visions of the Islamic State

Proponents of reform in Islamic political thought and practice frequently describe the work of Fazlur Rahman, the twentieth-century modernist scholar of Islam, and his method of Qur’ānic interpretation as a source of intellectual and political rejuvenation for contemporary Muslims. This article describes the ethicist underpinnings and content of Fazlur Rahman’s democratic vision of the Islamic state, as expressed in his major writings of the 1960s, and contrasts that vision with other proposals for establishing an Islamic nomocracy in contemporary Pakistan. The context of state building fundamentally shaped Fazlur Rahman’s constitutional theory, and his arguments expressly repudiate the traditional, independent position of the religious elites or ‘ulamā’ and aim at absorbing them into the state apparatus. This article contributes to the literature by explicating in a systematic way Fazlur Rahman’s constitutional theory, clearly drawing the connection between the ethicist content of his double-movement hermeneutic with the statism of his vision of Islamic democracy. Fazlur Rahman’s theory fails to establish a framework for an Islamic nomocracy, posing a significant challenge for advocates of intellectual and constitutional reform who champion the ethicist approach.

The evolution of the Pridnestrovian identity in the context of the unresolved conflict with the Republic of Moldova

The construction of the Pridnestrovian political nation is carried out both naturally and through a purposeful state policy on nation-building. The identity of the modern Pridnestrovian state was formed initially on anti-nationalist principles, in contrast to the identity of the Republic of Moldova, on the basis of late Soviet internationalism, as well as a successor republic of the MASSR, but over time it began to transform, there was a departure from Soviet principles in favor of self-sufficiency and irreducibility to any models. In many ways, this was facilitated by the position of Pridnestrovian political and scientific elites looking for sources of their own statehood in the identity of the Pridnestrovian people. To date, a system has been created in Pridnestrovie that ensures the retransmission of values and meanings among the population, it includes society and government institutions, as well as civil society institutions. At the same time, the development of civil and political identity leads to a complication of the dialogue between the PMR and the RM. In the conditions of a multidirectional geopolitical choice, the application of the Pridnestrovian model for Moldova turns out to be impossible, since the Republic of Moldova has not abandoned the national model of the state. The spread of the Pridnestrovian multiethnic model in Moldovan society and politics can be perceived as interference in internal affairs and forced Russification. The author suggests not to confuse concepts when talking about the identity of the population – not to confuse the political discourse and ideology of the state with the identity that has naturally formed over the centuries, based on multiethnicity, peacefulness and attraction to the Russian world. The political ideology of the modern Pridnestrovian state is directed towards the future and has a political goal – independence, identity connects the people with its origins, in this case with the past, in which Russia's special role in the development of the region is noticeable.

Strategic Partnership between Russia and India from the Perspective of National Elites

The focus of the article is the analysis of the prospects of the relationship between Russia and India. The author examines the attitudes of the elites in both countries towards each other, using historical sociology, the theory of cultural hegemony, and post-colonialism to explain the formation and perspectives of these elites. The objective and subjective economic and political conditions have, until recently, hindered any genuine efforts towards bringing the two countries closer, as both sides perceived the West as a more promising partner. This attitude has been shaped by historical factors, such as the formation of the Indian elites under the influence of British political, economic, and military culture, and the reckless admiration of the victors of the Cold War by the Russian elites, which attempted to abandon the Soviet legacy after the collapse of the USSR. Despite declarations of strategic interest in forming a polycentric world and developing bilateral Russian-Indian relations, economic ties have not supported these intentions. However, the conflict in Ukraine and the imposition of Western sanctions have compelled the Russian elites to re-evaluate their priorities. They have been faced with a choice: either to return to a Western orientation, which could lead to internal discontent, or to build stronger ties with China or India. The path chosen will depend on the position of the Indian elites, who have the freedom to take a neutral stance in a conflict far from their borders, and on the outcomes of the Ukrainian crisis.

Intra-party heterogeneity and voter perceptions of party positions

Do voters correctly perceive left-right positions of political parties? This question received considerable attention in the literature in the past decades. Previous research has shown that most voters have somewhat ‘correct’ perceptions of where parties are located on a left-right dimension, but that both individual and party level factors influence how much those perceptions deviate from the real positions. This paper adds to this literature, relaxing the unitary actor assumption and introducing heterogeneity to the analysis. Using data from elite surveys to measure intraparty preference heterogeneity on two dimensions, I demonstrate that voters' misperceptions of party positions strongly increase the more heterogeneous the positions of party elites are on the economic dimension, but not on the sociocultural dimension, and that the effect size depends on how salient this dimension is for the party. The findings have implications for future research on mass-elite linkages, representation, as well as voting behavior.

Elite opposition and popular rejection: the failure of presidential term limit evasion in Widodo’s Indonesia

ABSTRACT In recent years, there has been an increasing body of scholarship analyzing the conditions under which incumbent presidents can launch successful attempts to evade existing term limits. It has generally been found that if presidents use multi-strategy approaches, the probability of their success is high. Failure of term limit evasion, on the other hand, is typically ascribed to opposition by judges or to popular disapproval. The case of Indonesia, presented in this article, challenges some of these assumptions. We show that President Widodo’s attempts to achieve a revision of term limit regulations or to delay the next elections failed despite a determined multi-strategy approach, and they did so primarily because of sustained elite opposition, including from his own party. Judges played no role, and popular rejection was relevant only insofar as it aligned with elite attitudes. Widodo’s failed term evasion attempts, then, highlight two contradictory trends in Indonesia’s contemporary democracy: they demonstrated both the erosion of democratic culture that made the initiative possible and the continued resilience of democracy that ultimately thwarted the plan.