Elite theory

Abstract

This article reviews contemporary elite theory in political sociology and political science. Elite theory is based on the assumption that elite behavior has a causal relationship with general patterns of state-society relations. The article presents classical concepts of elite theory, such as elite inevitability and elite circulation, while privileging contemporary challenges and trends in elite theory. The discussion addresses elite origins of democracy and elite origins of the welfare state, as well as elites/non-elites interdependence.keywords democracy ◆ elites ◆ elite theory ◆ new elitism ◆ welfare state

Politics and Inequality in Comparative Perspective: A Research Agenda

“…The very existence of a political elite is an expression of political inequality (see also Sorokin, 1959). Elite theorists argue that elite rule perpetuates because elite turnover simply generates a new set of elites (see Hoffmann-Lange, 2007, 2018; López, 2013a). To understand why political inequality endures, we must go beyond the point that the elite are the living embodiment of political inequality.…”

State Segmentation and Democratic Survival in Latin America

“…Current theories of democratization 2 and democratic survival rely heavily on the opportunities and constraints that elites, notably economic elites, face. Economic elites can be understood as individuals capable of influencing politics due to their economic resources and their position in business organizations and the corporate world (see López, 2013a). The argument first developed by Acemoglu and Robinson (2000, 2005) and Boix (2003) 3 sustains that democracy and democratic reversals result from the economic elites reacting to distributive demands of the poor.…”

States, elites, and inequality in Latin America

“…Others define elites in political terms, that is, elites as individuals capable of affecting political outcomes regularly and substantially due to their position in powerful organizations and movements (Higley & Burton, ). As I noted elsewhere (see López, ), the latter definition of elites relates to the Weberian concept of power as the probability that an individual or group have of carrying through their will against the resistance of others, regardless of the basis in which this probability lies on (Weber, [1922], p. 696). According to the classical elite theory framework, there will always be a minority making decisions and a majority following them, and history has not yet provided a case of an eliteless society to disprove the point.…”