Researching Elites: Old and New Perspectives

Privilege, place, and patronage: ‘Giving something back’ to Wales

“…In addition to there being very little research, the concept of 'elite' is itself contested and lacks any clear definition (Daloz 2010). While some conceptualisations are very broad and can include any individual who is seen to hold status within a field, such as sports, music or even crime (e.g., Schijf 2003), we are following Scott's (2008) somewhat narrower definition, which proposes that elites are more usefully seen as those who hold or exercise power -those who have the authority to exert influence over others. While elite studies usually focus on those in powerful positions in finance and politics, those in powerful positions in civil society are also capable of exerting influence.…”

Organisational, Reputational, and Visible Leaders: A Comparison of Three Approaches to Civil Society Elite Identification

“…In elite studies, there is a broad agreement with the assumption that formal leadership positions, or 'command posts', as termed by Mills (1956), are a relevant element for the identification of elites. In the last century the dominant theories on elites have defined and analysed elites as those occupying prestigious and stable positions in both the public and the private sectors (Schjif, 2013;Wedel, 2017). In fact, since the work of Robert Michels (2001) on the 'oligarchical tendencies of modern democracy', many strands of elite theory have related elitism to top positions in organisations.…”

“…There is, in fact, an open conflict between many civil society actors (not only actors belonging to the migration sub-field) and the government since the so-called refugee crisis in 2015 (Santilli & Scaramuzzino, 2022). The data were gathered following a two-step procedure normally used in claims-making analysis (Cinalli & Giugni, 2011, 2013. In the first step, we selected the following four national newspapers (available online through the source Factiva): Il Corriere della Sera, Il Fatto Quotidiano, Il Giornale, and La Repubblica.…”

Prácticas de distinción, justificación y reproducción de la elite: evidencia de los ámbitos financiero y tributario en Chile

“…Quienes ocupan posiciones de élite no permanecen en ellas indefinidamente, sea por los ciclos de vida o porque los sistemas políticos y económicos cambian (Dogan, 2003;Schijf, 2013). Así, los problemas de reclutamiento, asignación, circulación o transmisión son centrales para entender la distribución social de poder y recursos (Keller, 1963;Salverda y Abbink, 2013), desde lo cual se puede proponer la existencia de un proceso de construcción y reconstrucción de la élite, sustentado en prácticas de distinción, justificación o legitimación, y reproducción.…”