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Scholarly studies of elites and political elites have a vibrant recent history. My aim here is to provide a selective summary of that history, focusing on the importance of social distinction and the theories of power structure as a theoretical background for understanding the influence of political elites in social change. Since new insights and concerns have emerged in this field, the organization of this essay is not entirely chronological. Even though I may have ignored many relevant contributions, my hope here is to provide some sense of the richness and significance of what have been accomplished by scholars regarding the relationship among elites and representation, the links between elites, democracy and social change and the theories of power structure. In this paper I also study the extent to which the introduction of a new research method by Domhoffian class domination theory opened a new insight in élite studies. Finally, an élite research strategy and two main conclusions are presented subsequently. ; Los estudios académicos acerca de las élites políticas poseen una vibrante historia reciente. El objetivo aquí es proveer un resumen selectivo de esa historia, enfocándose en la importancia de la distinción social y en las teorías de la estructura de poder como el marco teórico para comprender la influencia de las élites políticas en el cambio social. Dado que nuevas perspectivas y preocupaciones han surgido en este campo, la organización de este artículo no es completamente cronológica. Aunque puedan haberse ignorado muchas contribuciones relevantes, la intención aquí es brindar algún sentido de la riqueza e importancia de lo que han logrado los académicos acerca de la relación entre élites y representación, los vínculos entre élites, democracia y cambio social y las teorías de la estructura de poder. En este artículo también se estudia hasta qué grado la introducción de una nueva metodología de investigación por parte de la teoría de la dominación de clase de Domhoff abrió una nueva perspectiva en ...

"The article investigates continuities in the formation and careers of political elites in post-Soviet Russia. Data on the recruitment and careers of MPs (from 1993 until 2003), cabinet ministers (1991 until 2011) and governors (from 1991 until 2011) were used. The authoress identified a partial reproduction of the political elite which may be defined as reproduction circulation. The first form is structural reproduction that is evident in continuities of the socio-demographic profile of political elites. The second-strongest form of path dependency is functional reproduction that was found in career paths of political elites. Finally, individual reproduction was prominent. This reproduction should decrease over time, while functional and structural reproduction are likely to remain." (author's abstract)

P. Converse's The Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Publics (1964) (no further publication information provided) launched the debate on the absence or presence of ideology in mass US politics. Insufficiently elucidated is the question of the role of ideology within American political elites. Until the mid 1960s, opinion was sharply divided. One school of thought, headed by McClosky et al (1960 -- no further publication information provided), claimed that greater ideological differences exist among political elites than among the general public. A second school of thought took the position that despite such differences, there is overall agreement between political elites (Mills, 1956; & Bell, 1960 -- no further publication information provided). The principal weakness of both viewpoints is that they neglect to define "ideology" or fail to recognize its components. Here, "ideology" is defined as a "system of beliefs centered upon a small number of central principles." To determine the absence or presence of elite ideology, an examination was made of interrelationships between belief elements. Of particular importance was the concept of "constraint," since it indicated the presence of a subjacent, "meaningful" structure. Through factor analysis of attitude scales rather than individual items, it was concluded that Converse's argument was correct: elite attitudes exhibit more constrainment than mass attitudes. In addition, when attention was focused on behavior rather than words, & when the behavior was the result of specific conflicts & well-defined interests, evidence of structuring became clearly recognizable. It is recommended that students of American political behavior be less eager to reject an ideological perspective in their examination of political elites. 6 Tables, Appendix. Modified AA.

Examines techniques in elite interviews for political science research in postcommunist countries by providing lessons from interviews with political elites in Russia. The research design, sampling, & gaining access to respondents are discussed. Suggestions for securing elite interviews & obtaining respondent confidence are presented. The importance of open-ended interviews in elite research & awareness of sociocultural factors in postcommunist regions is affirmed. 1 Table, 53 References. L. Collins