Elite Positions Research Articles

Variation in the social composition of the UK academic elite: The underlay of the two-or three-cultures?

In this paper, we complement a previous study of the UK natural science elite, as represented by Fellows of the Royal Society, with a comparable study of the humanities and social sciences elites, as represented by Fellows of the British Academy. We seek to establish how far similarities and differences exist in the social composition of these three academic elites and in the routes that their members have followed into elite positions. We are also concerned with the consequences of the humanities and social sciences elites being brought together in the British Academy, in contrast with the situation in most other countries where elite natural and social scientists are located in the same academy. We pursue these issues in the context of C. P. Snow's discussion of the social underlay of the cultural disjunction that he saw between the natural sciences and the humanities, while also considering how the social sciences fit in. We find that there is support for Snow's position at the time of his writing. However, a notable development in more recent years is that the growing social sciences elite is moving in its social composition away from the humanities elite and closer to the natural science elite. This is primarily due to changes in the social origins and education of Fellows in those sections of the British Academy that are on the borderline between the social and the natural sciences. A widening difference thus arises with Fellows in the humanities sections most representative of Snow's 'traditional culture'.

Elite persistence in Sierra Leone: What can names tell us?

Is elite persistence weaker in Africa than in other parts of the world, given historical barriers to intergenerational inheritance of status, such as limited private property rights and frequent economic and political crises? In the absence of linked intergenerational data, we use name analysis to address this question. Using surnames associated with two Sierra Leonean elites, Krio descendants of settlers and members of chiefly lineages, we measure elite persistence in politics, education and business since 1960. Both groups were highly overrepresented in elite positions at independence, and remain overrepresented today. Benchmarking our results against other countries shows that Sierra Leone's educational elites are as persistent as elsewhere, but elite persistence in the political sphere is lower than in the United Kingdom, our main comparator. We also show marked path dependence: chiefly descendants remain more overrepresented in politics and mining, while the Krio are highly over-represented in education and the professions.

The Human Capital Effects of Access to Elite Jobs

We study the human capital effects of access to elite bureaucratic jobs in Taiwan, where performance on an examination determines entry into the civil service. Historically, quotas for successful applicants were set based on the 1948 populations of individuals’ native provinces in mainland China. This resulted in a higher probability of success on the exam—and, thus, greater access to elite positions—for descendants of certain migrant groups. These preferential quotas were replaced in 1962 with a uniform admissions policy. Using this variation, we find that the incentives created by preferential quotas increased human capital and improved long-run economic outcomes. (JEL D73, H83, J24, J45, M51)

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.

Gendered processes of recruitment to elite higher educational institutions in mid‐twentieth century Britain

AbstractThis article uses rare and detailed data on matriculants to the University of Oxford during the middle decades of the twentieth century as a prism through which to consider gendered processes of recruitment to elite institutions. The article makes four key claims. First, the broader shifts in middle‐class women's labour market participation in the mid‐century are reflected in patterns of maternal occupation among matriculants, shifting from being predominantly housewives to professionals across the period. Related to this, the fathers of matriculants had similar professions whether their child was male or female, but mothers’ professions varied much more between male and female students. There was much more variation between mothers and fathers of students who attended what we term ‘elite’ schools. Finally, across the mid‐twentieth century, the number of male students from elite schools declined significantly, whereas the number of women students who had attended an ‘elite’ school was much steadier. Given the centrality of Oxford for processes of elite recruitment, these trends in their matriculants will have far wider implications for who gets access to elite positions in the decades after these shifts were occurring, revealing in some ways the continuity of class privilege and the increasingly salient role of mother's occupation in processes of elite reproduction.

The education of aristocracy in Croatia and Slavonia in the 19th century

AbstractThe author analyses the education of aristocracy in Croatia and Slavonia from the late 18th century until 1918. Education played a vital role in the mindset and lifestyle of aristocracy, and in retaining its elite position in the political, social, cultural, economic and military aspect, to name just some. Aristocrats were trained to become the pillars of society, they had private tutors and teachers, and often finished the gymnasium but did not necessarily continue their schooling at a higher level. Reforms of enlightened absolutism, which opened career chances for lesser nobility and burghers and the rise of well-educated and economically successful modern middle class after 1848, forced the aristocracy to keep pace. However, it still preferred traditional studies of philosophy, law or, to a much lesser extent, theology and was losing its dominant role in the field of arts as well.

Career ambitions of women academics. Are women willing and able to rise to the top in higher education institutions?

ABSTRACT The disproportion of women to men at the top tier in the academic hierarchy, concerns politicians, academic leaders, students, and other stakeholders. A popular explanation for the gender imbalance in elite positions is that potential female candidates lack ambition and therefore do not have sufficient drive to make it to the top. In this study, we explore the issue of professional ambition among a group of women academics working as tenured associate professors in Norway. With the backdrop of VIE (Valence-instrumentality-expectancy) theory, we focus on two key subjective, but nonetheless contextual judgments that are assumed to underlie the decision to aim for a promotional opportunity; (i) Do I want it and (ii) Can I make it? Three sources of qualitative data provide interesting insights into these considerations, and our findings point to focusing more specifically on the perceived costs that are assumed to derive from making this career choice. The women are ambitious in the sense that they desire the professional clout and impact that comes with this top role (so, yes, they want it). However, a number of conditions are perceived to be central to the actual realization of their ambitions, such as more time, resources and transparency when it comes to the qualification process. The findings may serve as important to designing more suitable career conditions for this target group in practice. Finally, we propose the application of a context-specific gender perspective to better understand women’s career ambitions in higher education institutions (HEI).

Closed shutters or revolving doors? Elite career track similarity and elite sector transfers in Denmark

AbstractA crucial aspect of elite dominance in modern democracies concerns the degree to which different political elites share similar career paths and shifts between different elite positions. Similarity in career paths and transfers across elite positions are crucial aspects of elite dominance in modern democracies. This paper argues that there are limits to elite career similarity and sector transfer because of varying recruitment criteria and reputational cargo across different political elite groups. We argue that career similarity and transfers across elite positions are lower when recruitment criteria are exclusive. We also argue that acquired reputation may be a career liability limiting transfers into other elite groups. Empirically, we examine career trajectories and transfers across elite groups by mapping the full career of Members of the Parliament, top bureaucrats and interest group leaders in Denmark. We demonstrate that within the Danish political elite, career paths are relatively distinct and transfer few. Career distinctiveness and lack of elite transfers are especially pronounced for the bureaucratic elite, which is guarded by stricter recruitment criteria and on guard against reputations that might taint its image as a pure merit civil service. In contrast to other studies, our results suggest that the shutters between elite sectors are relatively closed. However, the few individuals passing through these most exclusive revolving doors may have a significant political impact.

Structural-demographic analysis of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) collapse in China.

This paper analyzes the collapse of the Qing dynasty (1644-1912) through the lens of the Structural Demographic Theory (SDT), a general framework for understanding the drivers of socio-political instability in state-level societies. Although a number of competing ideas for the collapse have been proposed, none provide a comprehensive explanation that incorporates the interaction of all the multiple drivers involved. We argue that the four-fold population explosion peaking in the 19th century, the growing competition for a stagnant number of elite positions, and increasing state fiscal stress combined to produce an increasingly disgruntled populace and elite, leading to significant internal rebellions. We find that while neither the ecological disasters nor the foreign incursions during the 19th century were sufficient on their own to bring down the Qing, when coupled with the rising internal socio-political stresses, they produced a rapid succession of triggering events that culminated in the Qing collapse.

Tetra Optimization Based Hybrid Parameters for OFDM Modulated Wireless Sensor Network

Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing [OFDM] is an information transfer technique in which a single data flow is divided between several closely spaced narrowband subchannel frequency range rather than a single Wideband channel frequency. The information is sent to the relay node there is a delay and some data is lost in the relay node is the major issue in the existing system. To overcome these challenges, The objective of this study is to minimize the overall energy consumption and to maximize the network lifetime. In this paper, a novel Five Input Hybrid Optimization Relay Node Selection and Energy Efficient Routing (FIHORNSEER) technique has been proposed for choosing the best relay based on noises. Ant Lion Optimization (ALO) is initially utilized to select the relay node's elite position. Secondly, the Crow Search Optimization (CSO) Algorithm is used for the phenomenon of position and memory of each relay. Finally, the Memetic Algorithm (MA) was generated by integrating the Ant Lion and Crow search optimization algorithm for the best relay node selection. The proposed framework is compared with previous techniques like FRNSEER, LMMSE, and HABO-OFDM Methods in terms of performance analysis, such as average utility, Energy Consumption, and Network Life Time. The result shows that the proposed FIHORNSEER improves the energy consumption better than 22.01%, 16.4%, and 12.2% FRNSEER, LMMSE, and HABO-OFDM, respectively.

The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and Immigration Policies: An Intra-Party Perspective

ABSTRACT This article investigates the immigration policies and positions of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from the perspective of intra-party dynamics. As far-right parties and anti-immigration discourses gained ground in Europe, social democratic and left-wing parties responded with different political strategies on immigration. This paper investigates the case of the German SPD and looks for possible policy changes (or the lack of them) in a timeframe where immigration was a highly salient, politicised issue. The paper focuses on the period between 2005 and 2017, utilising party congresses and manifestos to establish, analyse and compare the positions of intra-party actors, namely, the activists and the party elite and the official party line. A conceptual framework developed from the literature establishes the actors' and party's frames and positions, providing insights into their approach to immigration. The article then analyses the SPD's positions within the timeframe and tests May's Law on SPD intra-party actors and their discourses on immigration. The results highlight that May's Law holds for the SPD's intra-party actors on the issue of immigration. Findings also suggest that activists influence the official party positions although this is limited, as the official policies are closer to the party elite's positions.

The Activists Who Divide Us: A Cross-Country Analysis of Party Activists’ Influence on Polarization and Representation

What explains party polarization in multiparty systems? This study turns the spotlight to intraparty mechanisms, namely, the authorities and influence of party activists over the candidate selection process, as a potential source of party-system polarization. I hypothesize that parties in which activists possess more comprehensive selection authorities, the party elite will hold more extreme ideological positions, catering to activists' representation demands. Additionally, in such cases, the ideological gap between party elites and voters will be larger since more extreme actors overshadow the preferences of moderate party voters. Aggregating the intraparty effect of activists to the party-system level, I expect to find higher level of party polarization in countries where more parties allocate selection authorities to activists. Utilizing party-level data regarding candidate selection procedures as well as public opinion and elite position data from 19 countries and 93 parties between 2011 and 2017, I find support for my hypotheses.

Multi-Strategy Improved Flamingo Search Algorithm for Global Optimization

To overcome the limitations of the Flamingo Search Algorithm (FSA), such as a tendency to converge on local optima and improve solution accuracy, we present an improved algorithm known as the Multi-Strategy Improved Flamingo Search Algorithm (IFSA). The IFSA utilizes a cube chaotic mapping strategy to generate initial populations, which enhances the quality of the initial solution set. Moreover, the information feedback model strategy is improved to dynamically adjust the model based on the current fitness value, which enhances the information exchange between populations and the search capability of the algorithm itself. In addition, we introduce the Random Opposition Learning and Elite Position Greedy Selection strategies to constantly retain superior individuals while also reducing the probability of the algorithm falling into a local optimum, thereby further enhancing the convergence of the algorithm. We evaluate the performance of the IFSA using 23 benchmark functions and verify its optimization using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. The compared experiment results indicate that the proposed IFSA can obtain higher convergence accuracy and better exploration abilities. It also provides a new optimization algorithm for solving complex optimization problems.

Is ‘diversity’ a liability or an asset in elite labour markets? The case of graduates who have benefited from a French positive discrimination scheme

ABSTRACT This article analyses the obstacles faced by graduates who benefited from a positive discrimination scheme at an elite French higher education institution. It adopts a Bourdieusian perspective enriched by research on the barriers encountered by socially mobile individuals from disadvantaged and stigmatised categories and studies the experiences of graduates who lack the economic, cultural, and social capital necessary to compete with traditional holders of elite positions and who, due to their ascribed characteristics and/or the positive discrimination label itself, are prone to self-eliminate from elite positions or be subjected to discriminatory practices. Using data collected through interviews with 42 beneficiaries of this scheme still in the early stages of their professional careers, the article shows that the graduates’ disadvantages and ways of coping with them, as well their chances of being stigmatised and reactions to this process, vary considerably. This variation can be explained by different family backgrounds and ethnoracial characteristics but also by axiological positions towards employability and social mobility, with ‘purists’ more likely to invest in increasing their technical cultural capital to make up for ‘handicaps’ and ‘players’ more likely to put forward ‘soft skills’ including, in some cases, those associated with their ‘diversity’.

The Concept of Elite (Thoughts of Antonio Gramsci and the Study in Islamic Studies)

<p><span lang="EN-US">This study attempts to reveal the elite concept from Antonio Gramsci's thought which supports elite studies in an Islamic perspective, by using library research methods. The elite according to Gramsci is a social category that is not related to class but related to hegemony. Hegemony is a winning power that is obtained through a consensus mechanism rather than through violence or oppression of other social classes. The regime spreads hegemonic power of influence because it is supported by related infrastructure organizations, namely in which intellectual obedience is supposed to occur due to cultural and political factors. This is where elites emerge which are categorized into two according to Gramsci, namely organic elites (politicians, bureaucrats, academics) and traditional elites (subject to authorities). Elites in Islam bring consequences or impacts by showing the importance of elite positions in the orderliness of civilization, the urgency of elite cadre formation in order to strengthen faith and belief as well as faith. This is important to do because of the vital role played by the elite for the advancement of society around them. Therefore, the religious elite, the religious elite, now have an obligation to participate in realizing national unity and are responsible for maintaining national resilience in its various aspects (ideological, political, economic, and socio-cultural)</span></p>

Politics as Invention: On Theodor Herzl's Ideal Elites

This article explores Theodor Herzl's understanding of social elites and their role in society, especially with regard to creating (or resisting) social and political change. The article follows Herzl's different perceptions of elites and their relation to society, tracing the path that led him from an ideal of an aristocratic republic to his later democratic model. For Herzl, creating a utopia, that is, an ideal polity, effectively meant shaping a new understanding of the elite's position in society. Even though in his imagined future polity elites still govern—and even still, govern with an aristocratic ethos—their relationship with society is changed, shifting from an external authority to a socially and morally engaged position, which forms their public legitimacy and source of power.

The Role of Kyai, Santri, and Nasional (Abangan) in Political Identity Struggle: a Case Study

This study aims to explore the implications of the concept of Kyai, Santri, and Nasional (Abangan) in the political struggle of a village. By employing qualitative approach, specifically an ethnographic approach and a thorough analysis of social construction theory and concept of identity politics, the author found several results, including those related to identity manipulation in the socio-political context of the village. Such unavoidable condition is caused by the supporting system in the society. The power of identity becomes very highly-regarded by the society, especially for those who will run for elite positions in village political contestations. The results of the study show that the continuity of the Kyai, Santri, and Abangan role occurs through a process of internalization in the midst of social institutions, externalization by the community with symbolic messages as a code for sub-identity, as well as objectivication of intersubjective-structured lifeworld.

Is there an old girls’ network? Girls’ schools and recruitment to the British elite

Private schools have long played a crucial role in male elite formation but their importance to women’s trajectories is less clear. In this paper, we explore the relationship between girls’ private schools and elite recruitment in Britain over the past 120 years – drawing on the historical database of Who’s Who, a unique catalogue of the elite. We find that alumni of elite girls schools have been around 20 times more likely than other women to reach elite positions. They are also more likely to follow particular channels of elite recruitment, via the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, private members clubs and elite spouses. Yet such schools have also consistently been less propulsive than their male-only counterparts. We argue this is rooted in the ambivalent aims of girls elite education, where there has been a longstanding tension between promoting academic achievement and upholding traditional processes of gendered social reproduction.

Intersecting Power Fields Steeped in Tradition: The Radical Left and Administrating Higher Education in Finland during the 1970s

The student activism of the 1970s was strongly linked to the university administrative reforms in Finland. Especially after the radical faction of Finnish leftist students turned to pro-Soviet orthodox communism, the debunking of the professoriate’s “bourgeoise power” became one of the main goals of the vocal student movement. In this article, I analyse how the old professoriate was challenged and how they responded to this challenge. The conclusion drawn by this article is that Finnish university professors managed to resist the radical reforms and the pressure from the radical student movement in 1970s because their elite positions were not derived exclusively from one field, academia; rather, they also participated in other sets of elite practices, namely politics. Moreover, the close relationship between the state and academia was also manifested in the activities of students, who were historically also part of the Finnish elite. The starting point of this article is a case study of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Helsinki.

Legitimate Wealth? How Wealthy Business Owners are Portrayed in the Press

Germany has one of the highest levels of wealth concentration of any Western capitalist country. Research on the legitimization of economic inequality highlights that wealth elites tend to stress meritocratic arguments for legitimizing elite positions and wealth accumulation. However, whether this is also the case for wealthy business owners and how the media tends to portray those remains largely unknown. Drawing on a unique sample of 899 press articles from eight different media outlets between 2014 and 2018, we find a rather generous media debate. Based on descriptive evidence and a latent class analysis, we identify six latent frames illustrating how wealthy business owners are portrayed in the press. We show that the sources of wealth (inheritance, investment, entrepreneurship) are often used to highlight these owners’ deep economic relevance to the German economy, while the use of wealth is predominantly framed as a mean for profit-seeking. For wealthy business owners, moral evaluation of personal conduct is less present in the media and, when it is present, is rarely negative. Our study is the first analysis of press coverage of the wealthiest German business owners indicating a legitimizing media debate of high wealth concentration in an advanced capitalist society.