Elite Theory Research Articles

Ends versus means? Ideology and support for repeals in the mass public

AbstractAn important, but poorly understood issue in modern American politics is the conservative wing of the Republican party's interest in repealing legislation. Although existing work shows that conservative Republican elites focus more on repeals than in past decades, it remains unclear what the public thinks about this governance approach. We examine this issue with a survey experiment asking respondents to evaluate four policy proposals in Congress, holding the “ends” constant but randomizing whether they are achieved by enacting a new law or repealing an existing law. Our results show that conservatives favor repeals as a legislative tool more so than liberals and moderates. We also show that this is the result of ideological, rather than partisan considerations. Our findings shed light on both the modern Republican party's approach to governance and a key issue at the nexus of mass attitudes, ideology, and legislative procedure.

Elite theory and politicization of negotiated settlement: challenges to peace durability in Colombia

ABSTRACT Ending civil conflict is difficult, particularly through negotiated settlements. The research finds that the durability of peace guaranteed through a negotiated settlement can be affected when the opposing elites politicize the concessions made with rebels. Through politicization, the space in societal acceptance of rebels in post-war negotiations can be used by the opposing elites to gain a political support base, thereby challenging the delicate power-sharing agreement. Further, the politicization of the deal remains a hindrance to the sequencing of Transitional Justice (TJ) goals making the society more polarized and pushing it to violence, as the transition from the civil war to peace needs compromise and calculated sequencing of goals of TJ.

Reconsidering the Notion of Social Justice from an Elite Theory Perspective

ABSTRACT We explore social justice advocacy and education from the vantage point of elite theory as articulated in the works of Gaetano Mosca and Vilfredo Pareto. Elite theory is applied here to re-appraise the explicit and implicit educational means and ends inspired by contemporary social justice along three inter-related dimensions: the place of ideology, particularly of the utopian kind; systems of juridical justice; and the pursuit and maintenance of power by elites. We identify in the utopian stance of social justice the potential for privileging self-sustaining and perpetual activity in the here and now – as a superhuman and heroic project – at the future’s expense. The paper also explores how social justice may disrupt and exploit Mosca’s ‘juridical defence’ (in which power is a check on power). Finally, we suggest that social justice education can be understood as the political positioning of an elite characterised by an instinct for combining ideas and concepts (Pareto’s Class I), over and against elites seeking the preservation of group identities and categories (Class II). These themes are explored in the context of education.

Partisan (A) Symmetries in Hardball: Mass Level Support of Hardball Equivalent Across Party and Race

Constitutional hardball is when partisan actors engage in legal tactics that violate democratic norms for political advantage. The Republican Party seems to have engaged in hardball more than the Democratic Party in recent years, which is surprising as both parties should be similarly incentivized to use hardball. This asymmetry in elite behavior could reflect differences in what each parties’ coalitions tolerate. For example, non-white voters might oppose hardball tactics more than white voters for reasons such as hardball historically being used to enforce racial hierarchies. If true, that could constrain on Democratic elites’ actions more Republican elites due to Democrats’ more racially diverse base. I draw on a long line of research on partisanship and group interest to argue instead that both white and non-white voters of both parties should be similarly disposed towards hardball. This article then marshals data from the American National Election Survey (ANES) and original surveys to test that argument. In support of my hypotheses, I find white and non-white members of both parties have similar levels of support and similar motivations for hardball. Political elites are likely free to engage in undemocratic acts such as hardball with little fear of backlash from their supporters.

Potential of elites in consolidation of public opinion in eastern and western approaches

The authors proceed from the classical understanding of the elite as a social group endowed with power and capable of influencing public opinion. The paper represents the examination of the role of elites – political, economic and social – in the formation of public ideas, values and political attitudes. The problem is conditioned, on the one hand, by the intensification of geopolitical confrontation and the formation of polar ideological concepts on both sides of the ocean, on the other hand – by the dynamic change in characteristics of media environment, which lead to increased centrifugal processes and polarization of public opinion on current events, values and ideology. The authors take into account the widely accepted hypothesis of relative homogeneity of elites (Huntington, Sklair) in the sense that cultural differences and stereotypes influence decision-making in this environment the least. This assumption became the starting point in choosing the topic, predetermined the search for possible points of contact in building a public dialogue, and, in general, served as the basis for a conceptual assessment of the ability of elites to resolve insurmountable contradictions between different segments of the political media space. The authors identified similarities and differences in the understanding of the social and political role of elites in the East and West and proposed possible routes for the development of dialogue. The study is based on the works of the classics of the theory of elites, as well as on modern research in the field of social communication and media.

How Does Political Polarization Impact Legislative Gridlock And Policy-Making Processes

Contemporary governance is characterized by a trend toward political polarization resulting in legislative gridlock and policy-making processes. The relationship between polarization and stagnation in the U.S. Congress is explored, focusing on how far ideological extremes have contributed to the breakdown of policymaking and articulation. Social Identity Theory, Elite Theory, Agenda Setting Theory, Rational Choice Theory, and Cultural Theory are all theoretical frameworks that offer insight into how polarization comes about. When a band of congressional members increasingly espouse radical positions, there is virtually no bipartisan cooperation and a corresponding decline in legislative productivity. The result is a stalemate, and while that in and of itself doesn't stop necessity from arising, it does prevent the consideration of pressing matters, namely (but not limited to) the federal minimum wage, which has repeatedly failed to increase despite the broad agreement on its necessity. The challenges of policy implementation in the polarized environment of resourced allocation disputes and judicial challenges also further complicate governance. In the end, the polarization and legislative deadlock that is cyclical, calls us to strategic interventions that increase the effectiveness of policymaking and return American democracy to functioning

The Rise of the “Democrat Party”: Republican Elites, Partisan Slurs, and Linguistic Polarization

In a time of heightened affective and negative partisanship, we examine the intra-elite party dynamics underlying insulting partisan rhetoric. Our focus is on Republicans' reference to their partisan opponents as the “Democrat Party,” an ungrammatical mislabeling intended as a slur. We show that this usage, while not new, has exploded in recent years. This increase comes at the same time as significant change within the Republican Party. We argue that the tumultuous changes ushered in by the 2016 election have created fertile ground for factional turnover and enabled the rise of this partisan slur. We further contend that the epithet’s meaning has subtly shifted, suggesting that performatively partisan actors within the party, namely, partisan media, have become centralized actors within the Republican network. Using several corpora of political communication by Republican politicians and conservative media, we document a general rise in mislabelings of the Democrats concentrated in 2018–2019. We further show that the adoption of this insult by notable Republican elites like Donald Trump is due primarily to right-wing media’s influence. We conclude with a discussion of the normative implications of increasingly partisan media-centric, performative politics within the American right.

Elite Governance, Development, and Public Safety in Nigeria

Governance defines how political actors use ethical or corrupt practices to influence mass participation in political decision-making in public affairs. This article interrogates the implications of the elite monopoly of power for development and public safety in Nigeria. We anchored the study on Pareto’s circulation of elite theory. It adopts a qualitative method to collect secondary data which are content and thematically analyzed. Results indicated that the gap between the elite and the citizenry threatens the development and public safety in Nigeria. This article concludes that elitism should not only socially engage with the citizenry, but it should also reproduce egalitarian political values and actors for inclusion in Nigeria’s democratic destiny. Drawing on the values of the conceptual lions (oselu) of Pareto to scare his conceptual foxes (ojelu) vices out of political domination through electoral re-socialization could neutralize elite conspiracy against the majority and boost the capacity of vulnerable Nigerians to initiate and implement development and public safety defenses. It suggests that a true fiscal federalism predicated on ethical reorientation in politics could reinvent Nigeria, and relieve her of the burden of underdevelopment and insecurity into which elite avarice has plunged the country.

2001-2021 - ЖЫЛДАР АРАЛЫГЫНДА АФГАНИСТАНДЫН САЯСИЙ ТҮЗҮЛҮШҮНӨ ЭТНОСТУК ТОПТУН ТААСИРИН ИЗИЛДӨӨ

Examining the influence of ethnicity on the political structure of Afghanistan over the past two decades provides insight into the political and social realities of the country. Afghanistan is recognized as a multi-ethnic nation where different ethnic groups coexist. Political structures in Afghanistan have always been influenced by ethnicity throughout its historical evolution. The main objective is to address the question of how the multi-ethnic society in Afghanistan has affected the political structure in the past two decades. This article employs the framework of competition among elites (Elite Theory) and utilizes analytical- descriptive methods along with library resources, scientific journals, and reputable articles. Findings indicate that the multi-ethnic society in recent decades (2001-2021) has harmed the realization of a political structure based on democratic values, and the foundation of the political structure has failed to manifest tangible and deep expressions due to ethnic attitudes.

Budget Implementation and Socio-Economic Development in Akwa Ibom State

This study examined the influence of the implementation of the annual budget on the socio-economic sector of the state with emphasis on education & health. It was observed that in most states of the federation, the factors responsible for budget failures included but were not limited to budget indiscipline, lack of accountability, inadequate oversight functions on the side of lawmakers, and untimely release of funds, amongst others. It was the objective of this study to establish how the implementation of annual budgets in Akwa Ibom State has impacted the level of secondary and primary healthcare delivery in the State as well as the educational facilities in Akwa Ibom State. To achieve the above objectives, the survey research design was employed to gather data from a large population through the instrumentality of the research questionnaire. Hard data were also obtained from the state’s budget office. To explain this study, the Elite Preference Model which is a variant of the Elite Theory was employed. The findings of this study revealed that the implementation of the budget had a significant negative relationship with secondary and primary healthcare delivery and the attainment of educational services/facilities in Akwa Ibom State. Given the above findings, it was recommended amongst others that, as a matter of policy, budget discipline should be enforced in all its three dimensions, namely, numerical discipline, timing discipline and policy discipline. It was also recommended that a target budgeting strategy should be adopted by the Akwa Ibom State government.

Элита и процесс ее воспроизводства в трудах Н. И. Кареева: актуальные аспекты социологического анализа

The article deals with the peculiarities of sociological views on the nature and role of elite strata in society of one of the outstanding Russian thinkers N. I. Kareev. His work and methodological positions defended by him cause ambiguous assessments among researchers of different scientific schools and directions. In his works he touched upon quite important and relevant problems of methodological foundations and principles of development, as well as the role of sociology, its interaction with other humanitarian and social sciences, first of all, history, scientific foundations of the theory of progress, the essence of social and historical process, social activity and the role of personality in these processes. The elite problematics was one of the important directions in his research. Declaring the principles of scientific analysis peculiar to positivism, but at the same time not refusing to use some other approaches, including some ideas of the subjective school in sociology, he presents his vision of the nature of the elite. Also, like one of the founders of the theory of elites V. Pareto, he identifies and characterizes two basic elite strata – the ruling elite and the stratum deprived of power, but having important social indicators, comprising heterogeneous groups of outstanding political figures, heroes, and major political personalities. This paper also draws attention to the analysis of the basic characteristics of the elite and the conditions of its reproduction. It is noted that developing the humanistic, value (meritocratic) approach, N. I. Kareev pays attention to such an important factor in the reproduction of elites as education.

The Elitist Theory and its Four Chinese Reverberations: A Discussion based on China's National Governance Theory

The Elitist Theory and its Four Chinese Reverberations: A Discussion based on China's National Governance Theory

Siyasi elitanin mahiyyətinə konseptual yanaşmalar

The concept of political elite has been the subject of discussion by many researchers in different periods of history. Various theories and concepts have been put forward about this phenomenon. Today, we cannot imagine any society without a political elite. In both democratic and non-democratic states, power is concentrated in the hands of an organized minority-the political elite. The article basically tries to clarify questions that interest many scientists, such as the essence and content of the political elite, as well as the role of elite groups forming the political elite in the management of the community and decision-making. The political elite theories and concepts of thinkers such as G. Mosca, V. Pareto, R. Michels were investigated, and an extensive comparative analysis was conducted between these concepts. In-depth study of different approaches plays an exceptional role in understanding the basic nature of the political elite.

The Paradox of Elites in Civil Society: A Comparative Study on Civil Society Leaders’ Satisfaction with Democracy in the UK and Sweden

AbstractThe presence of an elite group in civil society elicits a discursive friction between the long-standing normative understanding of civil society, acting as a check on government overreach and autocratic tendencies, and elite theories. Robert Michels’s iron law of oligarchy posits that as individuals rise in the ranks to become organizational leaders, they begin to take on elite attributes, and their priorities align with those of other elites and away from those of their constituents. Michels’s argument echoes with today’s populist anti-elitist rhetoric and the way populism rejects any intermediary bodies between the people and the political leaders, including interest organizations in civil society. As an attempt to empirically probe this theoretical tension, this paper explores satisfaction with the way democracy is working among the top-level leaders of the most well-resourced national-level civil society organizations in Sweden and in the UK, drawing on a survey study conducted in 2020–21.

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.

Social Change and Reputational Elites: Assessments and Reassessments of the ‘Sporting Glory of Bulgaria’ (1989-2020s)

This article deals with post-communist period in Bulgaria and particularly with the social change on the example of sports elites. It is studying the transformation of old (totalitarian) sports elites into new (capitalist) ones, changes in their symbolic capital and content of new ‘reputational elites’, and the legacy of socialist sport in the transi-tion period. Social history and social anthropology approaches are used in order to apply elite theory and concept of Bourdieu for symbolic and social capital. The re-search is based on primary official and statistical documents and on oral standardized interviews.

Analysis of Elite Contestation and Political Base of the GOLKAR Party during the 2014-2016 Joko Widodo Administration

This study aims to examine the elite contestation and political base of the GOLKAR Party during the 2014-2016 Joko Widodo administration. From this analysis, the following novelties are observed. Firstly, elite contestation often evaluates the power struggle only, although it is presently analyzed with its socio-political base. Secondly, the existing study of elite cooperation and competition prioritizes the experience of liberal democracies in the Western tradition, requiring elite autonomy from the state. In this case, the elites in the GOLKAR competition and cooperation are interrelated with the state. Thirdly, elite theory is presently used with contestation in political party organizations despite relevant implementation not being performed after tracing and exploring bibliometrics with the VOSviewer application. These three studies show that only strong party institutions and elite adaptation are required in the new system during a political transition. In the qualitative study, the elites successfully build networks and cooperate with government elites and organizations, which also possess the popularity, leadership, reputation, and capital to succeed in contestation using quantitative data.

Geographies of super-philanthropy: Disaggregating the global philanthropic complex

In recent decades the world has witnessed an unparalleled growth of philanthropic initiatives and institutions that has proven inextricable from the vast accumulation and concentration of wealth on a global scale. Echoing recent calls for geographers to study philanthropy, this paper seeks to advance a critical geographical understanding of globalising philanthropy. Inspired by geographical scholarship on relational thinking, the paper frames the varied manifestations of contemporary philanthropy as a ‘philanthropic complex’ in order to understand philanthropy through central themes of relationality, intermediation and stabilisation. Advancing theories of philanthropy by characterising the complex's geographical unevenness and political functions of depoliticisation, the paper closes by outlining avenues in which relational thinking about philanthropy can advance geographical theories of elites and global development.

Генезис советской интеллигенции и изменение ее отношения к власти в годы реформ Н.С. Хрущева

This article is devoted to understanding the genesis of the Soviet intelligentsia and identifying meaningful changes in its attitude to power in 1953–1964. The research methodology is based on complementing the historical-party approach with sociological theories of functionalism and structuralism, as well as the theory of elites and the new class. The hypothesis of the study is the complex nature of the Soviet intelligentsia, which included the remnants of the pre-revolutionary educated layer, as well as representatives of the “new” Soviet intelligentsia who emerged during the years of Soviet power, possessing high cognitive qualities, partisanship and the ability for social conformism and mimicry. The modernization of the socio-political course under N.S. Khrushchev and his opening of the floodgates of criticism of the “cult of personality” of J.V. Stalin revived the function of critical analysis and construction of new meanings, characteristic of the intelligentsia, which was successfully suppressed in the USSR. The growth of critical sentiment among the Soviet intelligentsia in the conditions of desacralization of power and half-hearted de-Stalinization, the articulation of doubts about the effectiveness of the Soviet system began in the early 1960s to failures in economic policy. The economic uncompetitiveness of socialism in the conditions of weakening mobilization mechanisms for its development gives rise to a crisis of confidence in power among the Soviet intelligentsia. In the conditions of the USSR's transition to a post-industrial society, there is a growing dissonance between the humanization and technocratization of the Soviet intelligentsia and the further dogmatization of the CPSU system of ideological education. The result is an increasing trend since the mid-1960s anomie of the Soviet intelligentsia from power.

LOCAL ELITE CONFIGURATION ON A SMALL ISLAND IN INDONESIA

Purpose: This article discusses the elite configuration of ethnic groups from a small island in North Maluku, Indonesia. This research aims to explore why Makian elites tend to be fragmented in politics, even though they are a tribe that has the same genealogy and comes from a small island in North Maluku. Theoretical Framework: Makian is an ethnic group living on Makian Island; some migrated to various islands in North Maluku. Even though the Makian ethnic group is not the dominant population in North Maluku, the number of elites in the political and bureaucratic sectors in the region is dominant. However, in the political context, the positions of Governor of North Maluku and Mayor of Ternate in the last decade have consistently failed because the political elite tends to be fragmented. Elite theory is the leading theory to explain ethnic group fragmentation. Method: This research uses a descriptive-qualitative method by observing various documents and in-depth interviews with informants. Results: The findings show that the Makian elite has diverse identity backgrounds, such as geographical, professional, and cultural backgrounds. This article argues that the diversity of elite backgrounds, such as geographic, language, and village differences, is related to political fragmentation at the local level. Conclusions: Even though the Makian elite group is an ethnic group in North Maluku, they have different characteristics or backgrounds, such as differences in geographical aspects covering the East and West regions, differences in language Tabayama and language Titinee', cultural differences between villages in the same geographical area, and differences in professional backgrounds. With various characteristics, the Makian elite tends to fragment in the election of the Governor of North Maluku and the Mayor of Ternate based on geographical aspects between those from East and West.