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How can the existence of elites be compatible with democratic governance? Any democratic society is inevitably confronted by this basic question. This book reviews existing research on elites and their interactions with those around them. How the recruitment to elites changes in the long run according to class and gender is one of the core themes of the present volume. Other topics explored include the relationship between elites and the population, collective action and elite cohesion, and elites and democracy. The approach is multinational, with examples provided from countries around the world. This is a valuable book for social science students and researchers of many disciplines, including sociology, political science and psychology. It offers a review on historical and current research on elites in society and includes an extensive discussion of class and gender. Examples from countries in different parts of the world allow for international insights.

Elites are 'on trial' firstly for their role in the past and shaping the context for the crisis, secondly in terms of how they responded to the crisis and finally in terms of what role they are playing in the aftermath. This book is concerned with what happens when elites are challenged by crisis and helps us understand 'elites on trial'

This compelling and convincing study, the capstone of decades of research, argues that political regimes are created and sustained by elites. Liberal democracies are no exception; they depend, above all, on the formation and persistence of consensually united elites. John Higley and Michael Burton explore the circumstances and ways in which such elites have formed in the modern world. They identify pressures that may cause a basic change in the structure and functioning of elites in established liberal democracies, and they ask if the elites cluster around George W. Bush are a harbinger of thi

Preliminary Materials /M. Sasaki -- Introduction /M. Sasaki -- Elite And Leadership Change In Liberal Democracies /John Higley and Jan Pakulski -- Elite Distinction: Grand Theory And Comparative Perspectives /Jean-Pascal Daloz -- Comparing Two Charismatic Leaders: Ataturk And De Gaulle /Mattei Dogan -- New Challenges, New Elites? Changes In The Recruitment And Career Patterns Of European Representative Elites /Heinrich Best -- Political Elite Circulation: Implications For Leadership Diversity And Democratic Regime Stability In Ghana /Johanna Odonkor Svanikier -- Political Elites In The Commonwealth Of Independent States: Recruitment And Rotation Tendencies /Oxana Gaman-Golutvina -- Nordic Elites In Comparative Perspective /Ilkka Ruostetsaari -- Elite Integration And Institutional Trust In Norway /Trygve Gulbrandsen -- From Vietnam To Iraq: American Elites' Views On The Use Of Military Force /Gwen Moore and Stephanie Mack -- Notes On Contributors /M. Sasaki -- Index /M. Sasaki.

Small in number but great in influence, mobile elites have shaped the contours of global capitalism. Today these elites continue to flourish globally but in a changing landscape. The current economic crisis-and rising concerns about the moral legitimacy of extreme wealth-coincides with stern warnings over the risks posed by climate change and the unsustainable use of resources. Often an out-of-bounds topic in critical social science, elites are thought of as too inaccessible a group to interview and too variable a minority to measure.This groundbreaking collection sets out to challenge this pe

At a time when significant social status, economic resources, and political opportunities seem to become ever more unequally distributed and only available to a few, this book represents the first systematic effort in recent years to develop a sociological model of elites and non-elites. In outlining a new typology of economic, political, and cultural elites, as well as drawing attention to the important role of non-elites, this accessibly written book provides novel insights into the structure of historical and contemporary societies.Milner identifies the sources and structures of economic, political, and cultural power, and investigates patterns of cooperation and conflict between and within elite groups. Analyzing politicians and propagandists, landowners and capitalists, national heroes and celebrities, ordinary folks and outcasts, the book applies its model to three distinctly different societies – ancient India, Classical Athens, and the contemporary United States – highlighting important structural commonalities across these otherwise very dissimilar societies.A significant contribution to scholarship, Eliteswill also be useful for an array of courses in sociology, political science, and history. Murray Milner is Professor Emeritus of Sociology, and Senior Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia.

Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. Social Networks, Power, And The State -- Introduction -- Liberalism, Marxism, and State Theory -- States and Social Classes -- Chapter 2. Does It Matter Who Governs? -- Indicators of Power -- Uncertainty in Organizations -- The Cohesion of Class Segments -- States and Social Democrats -- The Need for State Unity -- Conclusion -- Chapter 3. Business Leaders, Experts, And The Social Security Act -- Introduction -- Corporate Liberalism and Mills -- The Distortion of Corporate-Liberal Theory -- The Social Security Act of 1935 -- Chapter 4. The Wagner Act And Class Conflict, 1897-1948 -- The Origins and Tribulations of Collective Bargaining -- Labor Policy in the Early New Deal -- Who Wrote the Wagner Act? -- Why Did It Pass? -- Implications and Conclusions -- Chapter 5. Defining The National Interest, 1940-1942: A Critique Of Krasner'S Theory Of American State Autonomy -- Introduction -- Krasner's Theory and Findings -- The Council on Foreign Relations and the National Interest -- Discussion -- Chapter 6. The Ruling Class Does Rule: The State Autonomy Theory Of Fred Block, And The Origins Of The International Monetary Fund -- Introduction -- Block's Theory -- The Who, Why, and How of the IMF -- Discussion and Conclusion -- Chapter 7. State Autonomy And The Employment Act Of 1946: An Empirical Attack On A Theoretical Fantasy -- Introduction -- Conflict over the Employment Bill -- Conclusion -- Chapter 8. Class Segments And Trade Policy, 1917-1962: A Challenge To Pluralists And Structural Marxists -- The Pluralists -- The Structural Marxist -- Trade Policy in the Interwar Years -- Postwar Trade Policies -- The Trade Expansion Act -- Conclusion -- Chapter 9. Which Fat Cats Support Democrats?

This book revisits the modern history of Poland, from the perspective of its social sciences. The book makes this case study a model for the application of Bourdieus approach to the historical analysis of non-core Western societies. The book is, in other words, a reflexive study of the application of Bourdieus social theory. At the same time, it also critically studies the application of Western social theory in Poland, which is largely seen as a peripheral country. The study of Polish social sciences, with particular emphasis on linguistics and literary studies, points to the peculiar dynamics of peripheral intellectual and academic fields and their external dependencies. These insights offer a critical extension of Bourdieus theory of state and social elites beyond the Western core focusing on how the theories can be used in the reinterpretation and expansion of post-colonial theory, global history and comparative studies of post-communism. The book will be suitable for scholars and students of all those interested in the social theory of Pierre Bourdieu, global historical sociology, societies in Central and Eastern, socio-linguistics, literary studies and political sociology.