Structure Of Elites Research Articles

Comparing countries, exporting classifications, surpassing methodological nationalism: Class, gender, and education gaps in and between France and Portugal

The ‘globalization turn’ in the sociology of class has led to the resurgence of studies comparing social classes in Europe over the past 20 years and to question the methodological nationalism of the class analysis. But it has also paid little attention to the selection of the most appropriate empirical tools for quantifying class in a comparative approach. This article explores the links between occupations, class structures, and countries by applying the French and the Portuguese occupational classifications to both countries. France and Portugal are an especially suitable pairing for comparative study because social class and inequalities are central to sociological research in both countries, and their divergent intellectual histories produced different tools for quantifying social stratification. The Portuguese classification, which attaches great importance to the ownership of capital, helps to understand the diversity of the class position of the self-employed and the structure of the economic elites. The French classification, based on employment status and qualifications, highlights the role of diplomas and the public/private divide. Ultimately, the Portuguese social structure appears to be more polarized than the French one. This cross-national and cross-classification comparison brings to light features of the social structures of the two countries and the contrasts between them that would have remained a blind spot if we had used an international classification. Paradoxically, these national classifications help to overcome methodological nationalism and ethnocentrism.

Post-war reconstruction strategies of Ukraine: institutional and economic dimensions

The article examines a wide range of strategies and approaches to rebuilding Ukraine after the war. Historical examples of post-war recovery programs of countries in the 20th century are highlighted. Special attention is paid to the recovery of European countries in the context of using their experience, in particular the possibility of applying the "Marshall Plan" for modern Ukraine. The main advantages and disadvantages of recovery plans, conditions of their application, effectiveness in the economic and time dimension are considered. The article analyzes in detail the recovery plan of Ukraine, proposed by the Committee on Economic Development of the Verkhovna Rada. Taking into account the changes that took place at the front, in the structure of political elites and economic processes in the world and in Ukraine during the year after the publication of the plan, negative trends are singled out that distort the current and final results. The challenges facing Ukraine are examined in detail, including the extent of damage, geopolitical location, and the need for innovative technological development. The authors propose a comprehensive approach to recovery that includes reforming domestic policies, institutional structures, and attracting international support. Attention is also focused on Ukraine's integration into European economic structures, considering it as a key element for stable recovery. There are also warnings about the difficulties that Ukraine may face in the process of implementing the recovery plan, including economic and political obstacles. At the initial stage, the sequence and priority of the main measures should be established: demining huge areas of land, clearing debris, building shelters, dormitories and schools, medical facilities for providing basic medical care. These are the conditions for a quick start of reconstruction. The priority areas of development are singled out - "specialization of the country": the agricultural sector and the military-industrial complex. The article is a contribution to the discussion about the restoration of the country, because it focuses on modern challenges and potential ways of development, adaptability of the system to external and internal factors of influence, key moments of various cases of the plan for the revival of Ukraine in the post-war period.

‘Shah of Shahs’ or ‘Shah of India’? Some Observations on Territoriality and Power in the Mughal Empire (Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries)

Mughal statehood has been a much-debated problem in studies of pre-colonial Indian history. Discussing the character of this state as ‘patrimonial–bureaucratic’, ‘segmentary’, ‘feudal’, ‘centralised’ or ‘absolutist’, scholars have brought to light both valuable source materials and cogent arguments. However, their attention has been often focused primarily on economy, especially the agrarian system, administration, taxation, structure of elites and, more recently, culture. This article is an attempt to reflect on a hitherto less explored sphere, the territoriality of the Mughal state, especially studying the ruling elite’s perception of an association with the lands under its control.

Regional political process: features, structure and influence of political elites

The article analyzes the features of regional political processes. The process of transformation costs in the political process is shown. The influence of the level and quality of political elites on the decision-making process is shown. The process of elite formation, including recruitment, imitating institutionalization, is considered. The role of social institutions for entering into power is shown. The differentiation methods and ways of recruiting political elites are exposed, the principles of elites (formal and informal) are outlined.

Elite in Sub-national Politics: Structure and Continuation in Post-authoritarian East Java, Indonesia

Study on political elites in sub-national politics in post-1998 Indonesia did not pay much attention to identify the shifting or continuation of structural change in the post-New Order authoritarianism. From a case study in East Java, this article shows the change and continuation of political elite structure. Democratization does not necessarily produce significant changes that shift the position and privilege of the old political elites. Their organizational power might have declined, but their control over patron-client relationship remains strong. This is also finds that the political changes were, institutionally, not strong enough to cause the significant damage to the patron-client relationship developed during the New Order era. The democratization pressure has only caused the partial diversification of elites’ political affiliation while the inter-intra elite power relations model has not changed much. This explanation provides a new contribution to the understandings on the dynamics and changes in the structure of political elites in sub-national politics in the era of democratization in Indonesia.

The Social Background of the Enlightenment in Russia in a Comparative Perspective

Summary The Age of Enlightenment is identified as an eighteenth-century intellectual and philosophical movement that produced a variety of ideas ranging from the conservative to the radical, and from rational to mystical or even counter-enlightenment. This article discusses the social structure of intellectual elites in different countries during the Enlightenment. It argues that the different systems of ideas that were generated during this period, and the different forms these ideas took, are a result of the different configurations of intellectual elites in each country. It turns to examples from Scotland, France, German lands, and Russia to show the social background of enlightenment ideas.

Кто виноват? Централизация и электоральное поведение титульных этносов в республиках России

Introduction: the electoral behavior of voters in many Russian republics is characterized by higher support for incumbents. However, recently some of them have witnessed a decrease in electoral support for the Russian president from representatives of the titular ethnic groups. Objectives: to find the answer to the following research question: why do representatives of the titular ethnic groups reduce electoral support for the Russian president in some ethnic republics, while this does not happen in other republics? Methods: the study uses qualitative data collected by focus groups in four Russian republics: Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Chuvashia, and Komi. Results: the analysis of the data made it possible to identify the main factors that determine the change in the electoral behavior of titular ethnic groups’ representatives. The results of the study suggest that a decrease in the electoral support for the Russian president among the titular ethnic groups occurs only if they consider both levels of government – federal and regional – to blame for the infringement of their ethno-cultural rights. This, in turn, stems from two factors: (1) the fragmented structure of regional elites and (2) the choice of a loyalty strategy by the head of the region in response to pressure from the center. Conclusions: the latest reforms in ethno-linguistic policy in Russia did not remain unnoticed and influenced the electoral processes in a number of ethnic republics. In some of them, the titular ethnic groups significantly reduced the electoral support of the Russian government and ceased to be a significant link in the mechanics of political machines. In others, their electoral behavior remains stable. This allows us to conclude that the structure of the current the Russian president electoral majority is undergoing changes. Moreover, although these changes are not tectonic and are rather local in nature, ignoring them may lead to the fact that researchers and experts in the future may not notice the onset of more fundamental changes.

Идеи Сато Масару о российско-японских связях в 1990–2010-е гг. в контексте его профессиональной биографии

Introduction. Paper examines the views on politics and politicians of a former diplomat, member of the Japanese MOFA “Russian school”, popular political analyst, author of more than 200 books and articles on politics, politicians and political thought, Sato Masaru. Methods and Materials. The objective of this study is to extract the most relevant and illustrative ideas about politics and political behavior, expressed by a former diplomat, which relate to the essential characteristics and contents of the Russian-Japanese negotiations in the 1990s. The data sources for our analysis are the memoirs by Sato Masaru and his non-fiction texts (“The Self-Destructing Empire”, “The Art of Negotiating”, “State, God and Marxism”, “Russian-Japanese Diplomatic Relations: Northern Territories and Intelligence”). Analysis. Sato Masaru expresses uncommon views on Japanese and Russian political culture during the period of the rise of the Russian-Japanese relations in Post-Cold War era, which coincided with the “Lost Decade” depression in Japan in the 1990s and lasted for three decades. Moreover, Sato’s views illustrate the pragmatic approaches of the Japanese diplomatic machine towards the dialogue with Russia, while he obtained his information by observing members of elite groups of politicians in Moscow and Tokyo. In order to extract and study Sato’s most representative ideas, we have divided our text into four parts: (1) Sato Masaru’s professional biography, (2) his views on the structure of Russian and Japanese elite groups in relation to Sato’s diplomatic activities; (3) his assessment of the Putin-Abe dialogue in the context of the international situation. Results. The specific Sato’s views concerning Russian-Japanese relations in the Post-Cold War decades consist in (1) similarities between Russian and Japanese political cultures within the structure and behavior of elites, which are beneficial for a fruitful interstate dialogue; (2) assessment of the Putin-Abe ties in the 2010s taking into account Sato’s diplomatic experience in the 1990s and a panoramic view of international affairs under the Ukrainian crisis and sanctions during the 2010s.

Social Barriers to Nation Building in Afghanistan

The present study aims to examine the social barriers to nation-building in Afghanistan. In this qualitative type of research, the semi-structured interview tools were used to collect data. After the interviews, the obtained information was coded and analyzed. The findings of this study showed that the most significant social barriers to the nation-building process in Afghanistan were the ethnic structure of power, wars, ethnic elites, and interference from neighboring countries, inability to use the presence of foreigners, traditional society, and the lack of cultural discourses, the definition of ethnic identity, hegemony, ethnic totalitarianism, and toxic antidote. Also, social factors on political, economic, cultural, and geographical issues were examined in this study. The most important political obstacles to the nation-building process in Afghanistan have been social disunity, the presence of foreigners, exceptional opportunity, political instability, and the lack of national political leaders and parties.The most important cultural barriers are the illusion of conspiracy, cultural confrontation, and low level of awareness and lack of common aspirations. Recent findings of this study show that citizenship rights can be the central pillar in the establishment of a nation. Citizenship right is a new concept that equalizes the political, social, and cultural rights of all members in a society.

Quantifying the social structure of elites in ancient China

With data from epitaphs of elites in ancient China, we construct the elite social networks of the Tang-dynasty and the Song-dynasty. The complexity theory is then introduced to unveil associations between the elite social networks and the history. The top influential elites in ancient China are identified from the elite social networks. We detect the community structure formed with strongly connected elites, and investigate the interactions between the communities. It is observed that the elite social networks of the Tang-dynasty and the Song-dynasty exhibit the neutral and disassortative mixing patterns, respectively. Additionally, this work quantitatively supports the Tang-Song Transition Hypothesis.

Migration Processes in Ottoman Egypt in the 16th — 18th Centuries (Some Notes Concerning the Formation of Power Elites)

The author focused his research on the migration processes in the Nile valley in the 16th — 18th centuries, which had a significant impact on the formation of the political institutions in the largest of the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire. The inclusion of Egypt in the Ottoman imperial space was accompanied by a partial replacement of the former foreign ruling elite of the Mamluk meritocracy with a new one, in many respects similar to it. The balance of internal forces established by the Ottomans was held by the administrative apparatus headed by the Ottoman viceroy, the army corps (ojaqs), and the leaders of the main Mamluk groups. The main content of the study is to analyze the ethnic structure and recruitment sources of Egyptian power elites. As a result of his research the author concludes that the main influx of new representatives of the Egyptian “nobility” was carried out at the expense of external migration flows, which took place within an impressive area extending from the remotest territories of the Mediterranean in the west to the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia in the east. After examining a wide range of sources, it has been established that at the end of the period under consideration the power mechanism of the Egyptian Eyalet was held by the main neo-mamluk “households”, which were headed by Egyptian beys of predominantly Mamluk origin, who formed their hierarchy within the Ottoman military-administrative system.

South Caucasus: Glocalization of the Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has become a test of States ‘ ability to respond to external challenges. The article assesses how quarantine measures are introduced and observed in different countries of the South Caucasus-from recommendations to the introduction of a state of emergency. It also examines the consequences these measures entail for the legitimacy of power, the structure of elites, and the quality of public administration in the region. From the analytical viewpoint, the South Caucasus represents an ideal model: different measures to combat the pandemic in these countries lead to different results. In general, the ideology of fighting coronavirus is based on isolationism and alarmism. Isolationism in the South Caucasus is part of a global trend, and in some cases, manifests itself as the result of Western normative influence. Alarmism is also a necessary factor in the fight against the virus: it was panic that became the basis for the rare consolidation of society around authorities in transit countries and mass approval of strict restrictions imposed by the national governments. Unlike previous crises of the twenty-first century, the pandemic creates a demand for the competence of the authorities and the willingness to implement political decisions at the expense of the comfort and economic interests of citizens. The peculiarity of the South Caucasus is that the demands for competence caused by the pandemic followed the desire of citizens to pressure governments to fight corruption, which was the main driver of the revolutions in Armenia and Georgia. Amidst the spread of the disease, the demand for sufficient work of state institutions has come to the fore. If Georgia’s relative success in fighting the pandemic goes on, this will be another indication for the rest of the region of how important it is for the state to be “institutionally sound”.

The Importance of Connections: The Rise of Jewish Business Elites in Galicia

Abstract The article explores relations within the milieu of Jewish elites involved in the oil industry of two towns in Eastern Galicia – Drohobych and Boryslav – in the second half of 19th century. The oil industry, one of the unique examples of early industrialization in Galicia, attracted numerous Jewish participants, especially in the initial stages. They became workers, overseers and entrepreneurs, less or more successful. The Jewish communities of both cities were socially and culturally diverse. This article examines the formation and structure of Jewish economic elites, arguing that kin relations and connections with elites in a non-Jewish environment helped a group of oil entrepreneurs to distinguish themselves from others and sustain business. Though 19th-century industry in Galicia inspired writers with the idea of the oil magnate gaining wealth overnight, the formation of Jewish elites in Drohobych and Boryslav was a long process, which required the ability to connect with different networks.

FIRST STEPS–DENTITION, KINSHIP, SOCIAL GROUPS, AND STATUS IN THE UPPER BELIZE RIVER VALLEY: SMALL SAMPLE INSIGHTS INTO CLASSIC MAYA SOCIAL ORGANIZATION IN CENTRAL WESTERN BELIZE

AbstractNonmetric (morphological) and metric analyses of dental traits and dentition are an established and effective, but still much underutilized, means of determining biological relationships among the individuals comprising a population over several generations. Combining such dental analyses, a social organizational typology adapted from social psychology, and small sample statistics, this study hazards a trial examination of the evidence for biological affinity within and between three archaeologically perceived social groups represented in the Classic-period Belize Valley community of Buenavista del Cayo. The groups comprise traditional high elite and commoner categories, and a putative middle level of intermediate elites. Findings suggest a dichotomous kinship structure of elites and non-elites, but one within which there had emerged an emically and archaeologically distinct “middle” status group of intermediate elites or subelites that remained affined by blood to the subordinate non-elite commoners and peasantry. The study differs from previous examinations of ancient Maya social organization in employing a truly integrated bioarchaeological approach to the topic rather than what have generally been intrinsically insular archaeological or osteometric approaches.

Winning their place in the city: Squatters in Southeast Asian cities

Variations in squatter mobilization and the structure of political elites are shown to be related to the integration of squatters into formal housing recent history of squatter acquisition of a place in the cities of Southeast Asia. The cities analyzed are Hong Kong (China), Singapore, Jakarta (Indonesia), Bangkok (Thailand), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Manila (the Philippines). Squatter activity in each one is analyzed from the Post-WW II period of the 1950's and 1960's, to the contemporary situation of 2015. Each of these cases can be characterized at the beginning of the period, as having large numbers of squatters and squatter settlements, with few or no adequate housing, municipal services, etc. Each one of them dominated by economic elites in the form of conglomerates. The analysis describes the initial conditions of squatters, major shifts and events during the last fifty or so years, and the different outcomes in the struggles for place in the cities. The analysis is based upon observations, interviews and institutional materials gathered by the author in the 1960's, 1970,s and 1980's and from interviews, reports and institutional data currently available on each case. The analysis in these six case studies show that a unified political elite, little or no squatter mobilization and government control or ownership of the land, were the most important institutional factors in integrating squatters into cities. Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur integrated all or most squatters into the formal housing of their cities.

The ending of southern Africa's tripartite dream: the cases of South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique

This article examines the rise and decline of tripartite experiments in southern Africa, focusing on South Africa, Mozambique and Namibia, where tripartism emerged as part of the broader processes of democratisation and embedding democratic institutions. Why did these experiments largely fail to achieve the gains for labour that might have been anticipated? In each case, the lack of success can be ascribed to the ecosystemic dominance of neo-liberalism, returning growth fuelled by higher commodities prices, the changing structure of elites, dominant partyism, and structural weaknesses in both organised business and the labour movement.

Political Sophistication and the Dimensionality of Elite and Mass Attitudes, 1980−2004

Among the terms central to the literature on political attitudes have been complexity and constraint, with some scholars asserting that increased complexity—political sophistication—constrains political attitudes to a single ideological dimension while others argue that complexity instead leads to a multidimensional attitude structure. We investigate the role of sophistication in structuring issue attitudes using a unique survey of Democratic and Republican party elites in conjunction with the American National Election Studies (ANES). The two surveys allow us to compare directly the structure of elites’ and mass issue attitudes. We hypothesize that elites’ attitudes are unidimensional and mass attitudes are multidimensional. The difference, we argue, is that political sophistication constrains elites’ attitudes to a single ideological dimension, whereas much of the mass public is not fully capable of making the necessary connections between ideology and issue attitudes. The results of comparisons between...

Administrative elites in the Netherlands from 1980 to 2011: making the invisible visible

The Dutch top civil service level has seldom been described in ‘elitist’ terms; befitting a country with a strong egalitarian social culture. Though formally open to outside recruitment, in practice the (top) civil service in central government is a rather closed system. There is relatively little occupational mobility between these civil servants and political officeholders, and virtually none between the public and the private sectors. However, some initiatives have recently been taken to improve this external mobility. New Public Management has had little impact upon the structure and functioning of the Dutch administrative elites. More important for the positioning and functioning of these civil servants has been the creation of the Senior Executive Service, and, within the SES, the top management group. By creating this career system at the very top of the civil service at the central level, the elite nature of the top civil servants has been reinforced.Points for practitionersThe structure and functioning of the Dutch civil service has not been influenced by New Public Management (NPM). The rotation of positions at the top, through the Senior Public Service, is mainly inspired by the effort to decrease the compartmentalization of government departments. What has changed is the environment in which higher civil servants work, with Parliament, media and citizens demanding fast and tangible results.

Структура сетей политических элит Республики Польша в 1993—2013 годах

To identify the structure of network ties within Polish political elites; to study the features of network ties formation and the impact that both primary and labour socialisation periods and diaspora characteristics have on this process; to describe the structural features of the resultant network structures over different periods of time and analyse the structural dynamics of political elites for the purpose of forecasting major trends in the structural transformation of Polish political elites. In the course of the study, biographical data on the presidents, ministers, advisors, and party leaders of the Republic of Poland was collected and processed. The work follows the network analysis paradigm and identifies the dynamics of the key network parameters: distance, density, transitivity, and compactness. The author analyses the dynamics of representation in the structure of political territorial diaspora elites, business community members, and ‘moral politicians’. The article identifies two periods of formation of political party networks in Poland: the first period (1993—2007) saw a transition from rather weakly integrated systems to high density and cohesion networks as early as the second electoral cycle, after which a gradual decrease in the key indices of network integration was registered. A new peak of network cohesion and integration was reached in 2007—2011; however, the death of some key members of political elites in a plane crash resulted in a decrease in the network integration indices to the level of 2001—2005. On the whole, the network structure of Polish political elite is characterised by unstable dynamics relating to the crisis events of the past. However, it is established that the elites have a pronounced diaspora core and an unstable periphery; the share of businesspeople directly participating in political processes is decreasing, whereas ‘moral politicians’ usually take an active part in the formation of political elites.

Orientation Toward International Business Relations and the Influence of Values of Middle Eastern Business Elite

This research maps out a framework for the application of the value structure of Jordanian business elites, relying on Schwartz's (1992) theory of the contents and structure of values. The results suggest that Jordanian managers attribute the highest importance to achievement and security values and the lowest importance to tradition and hedonism. Moreover, the study explores the relationship between different value types and the willingness of Jordanian decision makers to conduct business with individuals from other countries. Finally, the sample suggests differences in values related to willingness for business collaboration among various countries, as a function of perceived cultural context.