The contested status of political elites: at the crossroads

Cover -- Half title -- Title page -- Copyright page -- Table of contents -- List of figures -- List of tables -- List of contributors -- Acknowledgments -- 1 Contested status: contemporary challenges to political elites and elite responses -- Part I: Elite autonomy and security in modern democracies -- 2 Elite autonomy and post-industrial problems of employment -- 3 On the (lack of) autonomy of political elites as representatives -- 4 Economic elites - political elites: scenes from a symbiosis -- 5 European citizens and elites in times of economic crisis and citizen unrest -- Part II: (Changing) elite structure -- 6 Degradable elites?: Modes and factors of parliamentaryturnover in Europe in the early twenty-first century -- 7 When political elites select political elites: insights into the accumulation of autonomous political capital -- 8 Careers of long-standing legislators and the making of the parliamentary elite: evidence from 25 Baltic parliaments -- 9 Recruitment of technocrats in Romanian cabinets -- 10 Farewell to the party elites?: Politically inexperienced ministers in Central and Eastern European cabinets -- Part III: (Changing) elite attitudes and behavior -- 11 Irresponsible elites in opposition and government: the Hungarian case -- 12 Theorists of their own practice: democracy as seen by Weimar politicians -- 13 Immigration and its consequences for European integration: a multi-level analysis of European national representatives' perceptions -- Index

Contemporary Western societies are witnessing ground-breaking social, economic and political changes at an accelerating pace. These changes are challenging the way democracy works and the role that political elites play in this system of government. Using a theoretical and empirical approach, this volume argues that political elites are urged to develop new strategies in order to achieve interest aggregation, to safeguard collective action, and to maintain elite autonomy and stability. The adaptive capacities of political elites are assessed through case studies, comparative and longitudinal analyses of their social structure, their recruitment patterns, and their attitudes. The book includes contributions from reputable scholars in the field of elite research and specialists on individual political systems across Europe and the US. It provides an analytical framework demonstrating that political elites are inevitable and potentially able to respond successfully to varying challenges.The book will be of key interest to scholars and students of political elites, democracy, comparative politics, political participation and European Politics.