
Contents
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1 The Theoretical Debates on Political Elites 1 The Theoretical Debates on Political Elites
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2 The Nature of the Political Elite in the Contemporary World 2 The Nature of the Political Elite in the Contemporary World
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2.1 Similarities: The Social Composition of the Political Elite 2.1 Similarities: The Social Composition of the Political Elite
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2.2 Similarities: The Power of the Leaders 2.2 Similarities: The Power of the Leaders
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2.3 Differences: The Distinction between the Political Elite and the Rest of the Elite 2.3 Differences: The Distinction between the Political Elite and the Rest of the Elite
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2.4 Differences: The Internal Differentiation of the Political Elite 2.4 Differences: The Internal Differentiation of the Political Elite
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2.5 Differences: Patterns of Recruitment to the Political Elite 2.5 Differences: Patterns of Recruitment to the Political Elite
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2.6 Difference: Patterns of Duration and Turnover 2.6 Difference: Patterns of Duration and Turnover
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3 The Role of the Political Elite 3 The Role of the Political Elite
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3.1 The Political Elite: United and Dominant? 3.1 The Political Elite: United and Dominant?
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3.2 Patterns of Conflict and Consensus within the Political Elite 3.2 Patterns of Conflict and Consensus within the Political Elite
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4 Conclusion 4 Conclusion
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References References
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44 Political Elites
Get accessJean Blondel is Professorial Fellow at the European University Institute, Florence, and Visiting Professor, University of Siena.
Ferdinand Müller-Rommel is Professor Emeritus of Comparative Politics at Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany. He is affiliated Professor at the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD), University of California, Irvine and held positions at the Free University of Berlin, the University of New South Wales, the University of Miami, the University of Düsseldorf and at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence. Over the past thirty years, he has published numerous books and peer reviewed journal articles on political executives, party government, and party systems in Western democracies.
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Published:02 September 2009
Cite
Abstract
This article examines the various forms that political elite theory took, from the end of the nineteenth century to the 1960s and 1970s. The career patterns, forms of recruitment, and duration and turnover among the political elite are studied. The article also discusses the role of the political elite. It is concluded that the use of the concept of the political elite can help in the understanding of political life, as long as it is treated as a flexible tool that takes into account the immense complexities of the power relationships between human beings.
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