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1 Introduction -- References -- 2 Eminent Scientists -- Emergence of Research Universities -- Enter the Professional Scientist -- Prominent Scientists -- In Search of a Geiger Counter to Detect Eminence -- Citation-Based Eminence Research -- References -- 3 Sociology as an Academic Discipline -- The Emergence of Sociology as a Discipline on its Own -- From Quasi-Hegemony to Pluralism -- Rise and Fall of Hegemonic Schools in U.S. Sociology -- Pluralism of National Sociologies -- Contrasting Sociology with Economics -- SSDs with and without a Core -- High- versus Low-Consensus SSDs -- Hierarchical versus Non-Hierarchical SSDs -- Self-Contained versus Open SSDs -- Journal versus Book-Based SSDs -- References -- 4 Identifying the Elite -- At the Peak of the Eminence Hierarchy -- Two Methodological Pathways for Identifying Elites -- Citations in Sociology—The Worst Proxy for Scholarly Recognition, Except for All the Others -- Study I: Eminence in the Monographic and Journal Literature -- Study II: Eminence in the Pluralistic World of Academic Journals -- Validating the Methodology -- Do Citations Correlate with Prizes and Memberships in Academies? -- Are Textbook Citations Special? -- Do Journals Mirror National and Specialist Sociologies? -- References -- 5 Collective Biographies and Career Pathways -- From (Auto-)Biography to Prosopography -- Elites in Transition -- Elite Careers in Economics and Sociology—A Comparison -- References -- 6 The Rise to and the Fall from Eminence -- Explaining (Fading) Eminence -- Master–Apprentice Relationships -- Elite Higher Education -- Academic Tribes -- Lipset and the Early Years of Political Sociology -- Lipset: Remembered in Political Science, Neglected in Sociology -- Why Has Lipset's Eminence Faded in Sociology? -- Pierre Bourdieu and U.S. Sociology: A Diffusion Study -- Channels of Diffusion -- Diffusing Publications and Concepts -- Social Structures Impacting Diffusion Processes -- Carrier Groups -- Eminence in Sociology—A Nested Phenomenon Extending Across Many Specialties -- References -- 7 Elites as Gatekeepers -- The Case of Journal Reviewers -- The Case of RKM—An Eminent Scholar Crisscrossing Social Circles -- RKM as Gate-Opener—Analysis of 1460 Recommendation Letters -- Elite Power in Sociology? -- References -- 8 Making Sense of Prestige Elites -- The Discipline-Elite Nexus -- Toward a Sociology of Academic Elites -- References.

The social science literature proposes two competing explanatory frameworks for the existence and longevity of super-fortunes: superstar or winner-take-all mechanisms, suggesting an increased dominance of new self-made billionaires; and mechanisms focusing on inherited advantages, suggesting an enduring importance of old family fortunes. Using panel data from the USA's annual Forbes 400 ranking (1982–2013), this study analyzes factors that increase or decrease the likelihood of remaining listed among the American super-rich. We find initially that the percentages of self-made entrepreneurs among the highest wealth echelons of US society have increased significantly since 1982. Sectors that improved the most are finance (including hedge funds and private equity), new technology and mass retail. The decline of inheritance as a source of wealth and the rise of new tech and finance fortunes suggest low reproduction rates among super-rich property owners. Family wealth, however, plays an important role if the longevity of fortunes is considered. While the literature predicts family fortunes to be taxed away, divided among a large number of heirs, or lost through incompetence, we find that scions of inherited great wealth (mostly up to the third generation) are more likely to remain listed in the Forbes 400 roster than self-made entrepreneurs. We conclude that even though entrepreneurship increasingly matters for becoming super-rich, it is first and foremost the ability of rich family dynasties to retain control over corporations and to access sophisticated financial advice that makes fortunes last.

This article aims to solve the puzzle of a persisting gender gap in Austrian national parliament after the introduction of voluntary gender quotas at the party level ("post-quota gender gap"). Preparliamentary careers of 703 members of parliament (Nationalratsabgeordnete) are studied using social sequence analysis to understand to what extent men and women benefit from the same political opportunities. The study´s main insight is that the gap mostly stems from a gender skew on local career pathways to parliament—that is, career transitions from local politics to the national parliament are found to be male-dominated in parties with bottom-up candidate selection procedures. On a general level, the case study highlights a vicious link in a federal state architecture: In Austria, with its nine states and over two thousand cities and municipalities, the gender gap at the local level significantly plays out at the national level.

To understand how legislative recruitment has changed over time this article investigates the career profiles of all members (N=1,158) of the Austrian National Council (Nationalrat) between 1945 and 2019 that either represented Austria´s Social Democrats (SPÖ) or People´s Party (ÖVP). Career profiles prove rather stable over time, suggesting that parties stick to established recruitment practices. Most party members are rooted in local/regional party branches/suborganisations and either directly enter the Nationalrat or rise through the party machine, which is evidence for decentralised selection processes. Minor gradual change within stable recruitment systems is found to stem from power shifts within parties caused by the diminishing role of trade unions within the SPÖ and of farmers´ organisations within the ÖVP. The case studies suggest that new legislative elites can only expect to arise in case of fundamental reforms such as the introduction of binding primaries.

AbstractOne of the features of organized Austrian capitalism is a tightly-knit corporate network (Austria Inc.) that facilitates control and coordination between companies. In the 1980s the subsidiaries of the Austrian industry-holding stock company (ÖIAG) and the largest banks were the central hubs of this network. Now, 30 years later, ÖIAG has privatized nearly all its companies and banks have not only merged and sold their equity interests, but also partly joined international business groups. Nevertheless, Austria Inc. has not eroded. By analyzing a network of personal connections between 1976 and 2000, I investigate in this article how the network has reconfigured to allow Austria Inc. to perpetuate. The analysis suggests three explanations: Despite extensive privatization of the economy, Austrian ownership continues to prevail within the network; the banking group Raiffeisen filled the gap that was opened by the withdrawal of the state from the economic sphere; members of the Austrian elite still use board meetings for social networking.

"Ein wesentliches Merkmal des koordinierten Kapitalismus in Österreich ist ein engmaschiges Eigentums- und Personennetzwerk ('Österreich AG'), das die Zusammenarbeit von Unternehmen ermöglicht. In den 80er-Jahren waren die Steuerungszentren dieses Netzwerkes die Beteiligungen der Österreichischen Industrieholding (ÖIAG) sowie die großen nationalen Banken. 30 Jahre später ist die Mehrheit aller ÖIAG-Unternehmen privatisiert, Großbanken fusionierten, lagerten ihre Industriebeteiligungen aus und traten internationalen Unternehmensgruppen bei. Dennoch ist die 'Österreich AG' nicht erodiert. Der Artikel geht anhand einer Netzwerkanalyse von Personenverbindungen (1976-2008) der Frage nach, welche Rekonfigurationen des Netzwerkes diese weitgehende Kontinuität ermöglichten. Drei Erklärungen stehen am Ende der Analyse: Trotz weitgehender Privatisierung blieb eine nationale Kerneigentümerstruktur aufrecht; die Raiffeisenbanken-Gruppe füllte das durch den Rückzug des Staates entstandene Vakuum auf; Österreichs Wirtschaftselite nutzt Aufsichtsräte weiterhin für die Kontaktpflege." (Autorenreferat)

One of the features of organized Austrian capitalism is a tightly knit corporate network that facilitates the control and coordination among companies ('Austria Inc.'). In the 80ies the subsidiaries of the Austrian industry-holding stock company (OIAG) and the largest banks were the central hubs of the network. Thirty years later the OIAG has privatized nearly all its companies, banks merged, dissolved their industry holding, and joined international business groups. Nevertheless, 'Austria Inc.' has not eroded. On the basis of an empirical analysis of interlocked directorates, considering the time frame 1976-2000, this article investigates which reconfigurations facilitate to perpetuate 'Austria Inc.' The analysis suggests three explanations: Despite the extensive privatization of Austrian economy, national owners continue to prevail within the network. The banking group Raiffeisen filled the gap that was opened by the withdrawal of the state from the economic sphere. Members of the Austrian elite still use board meetings for social networking. Adapted from the source document.

"Der Beitrag stellt eine neue Sozialfigur der Gegenwart vor: den Expertenintellektuellen. Bislang wurden in den Sozialwissenschaften Experten und Intellektuelle als grundsätzlich unterschiedliche Kategorien konzipiert. Jüngst ist jedoch eine Transformation des Intellektuellen zu beobachten, die ein Mischkonzept nahelegt. Die vor allem an Universitäten und Think Tanks beheimateten Expertenintellektuellen verfügen einerseits über spezialisiertes Wissen, sehen jedoch andererseits ihre Rolle mit politischer Verantwortung verbunden. Ihre öffentlichen Stellungnahmen zielen auf die Formung des Meinungsklimas ab, womit sie sich aus der Rolle des reinen Experten begeben. Um empirisch zu prüfen, inwiefern Expertenintellektuelle die klassischen Funktionen des Intellektuellen erfüllen, wird eine Inhaltsanalyse prominenter Gastkommentatoren des weltweit größten Zeitungssyndikats ('Project Syndicate') durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass der neue Intellektuellentypus weder mit dem begrifflichen Instrumentarium Bourdieus noch mit jenem Foucaults ausreichend beschrieben werden kann. Ausgehend von der Analyse öffentlicher Interventionen wird daher eine Überarbeitung der vorhandenen Phänomenologien über den Intellektuellen angeregt." (Autorenreferat)